The fourth edition of the European Healthcare Climate Summit was supported by the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland. Meeting online, we brought together a wide variety of healthcare professionals to discuss what climate-smart Healthcare looks like in practice. The summit featured tangible and replicable case studies from across Europe, allowing healthcare facilities to learn and replicate in their operations. Read a complete summary of the event in the report.
What does Climate-smart Healthcare mean?
Hospitals, health centres, and health systems acknowledge and address their own contribution to climate change and the impact it has on public health. That means reducing their emissions to net zero and adapting so that they are prepared and resilient to the new health burdens and pressures of climate change that we’re already facing.
Taking a facility level approach
Under the COP26 Health Programme, countries responsible for over 60% of European healthcare emissions have committed to climate-resilient and low-carbon healthcare. These high-level commitments give vital legitimacy and direction to European healthcare facilities, but ultimately healthcare climate action needs to happen on a health facility level.
We’re already seeing ambitious decarbonisation efforts from individual healthcare providers. At the same time, many are just starting out or are still not on target to achieve net zero healthcare by 2050.
Learn, replicate, collaborate
The summit featured nine tangible and replicable case studies from across Europe, allowing healthcare facilities to learn and replicate in their operations. Featuring examples for healthcare professionals with varying levels of expertise, the conference offered insights into developing carbon management plans, phasing out harmful anaesthetic gases, and more.