Climate change impacts everyone and affects many aspects of our daily lives, including our health. The American Medical Association declared climate change a public health crisis.
The United States government wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. Reaching that goal means the healthcare industry will also have to pledge to cut its emissions. Several studies show the healthcare industry makes up between 8 and 10 percent of the country’s carbon emissions.
“Healthcare emissions come from a variety of sources,” Megan Kemp, the director for Healthy Air and Water Colorado says. “It depends on what studies you look at, but you can attribute those emissions to be directly from buildings healthcare facilities are housed in, the energy they are using, and supply chain factors associated with transportation, water, and waste.”
Healthy Air and Water Colorado is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that advocates for public policy focusing on the growing public health threats posed by climate change. Kemp presented on Colorado’s climate action policies to reduce climate pollution and improve community climate resiliency during the CU Anschutz Alumni Virtual Summer Series focused on Climate Change Healthcare. CU Nursing alumni and faculty were invited to attend the presentation.
Reducing Emissions
Reducing emissions isn’t an easy – or cheap – task for the healthcare industry; however, new and substantial sources of climate finance are available for the healthcare industry to reduce its carbon footprint.
Ways to Get Involved |
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Kemp explained some options the healthcare industry could consider: funding and incentives are available from the Inflation Reduction Act, the state of Colorado, and incentives from utility companies to invest in alternative forms of energy.
“When we look at what kinds of improvements need to be made, we should be considering the most actionable items,” Kemp says. “Where is the most financial support and incentives? Transitioning facilities to using cleaner, greener sources of energy will pay for itself in the long term.”
Kemp says one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Colorado is transportation or single-occupancy trips.
“I think there’s a lot of value, especially when it comes to accessibility, to make sure there are sustainable ways for people to access healthcare,” she says. “I don’t think the individual patient can necessarily transform the healthcare system, I think it’s more up to the healthcare industry to make those changes.”
Becoming an Advocate
Healthy Air and Water Colorado is trying to encourage more healthcare industry leaders – including nurses – to get involved in advocating for climate change policies.
“It’s important that anyone with a healthcare background is getting in front of decision-makers and sharing their expertise because they’re seeing the effects of climate change on our health firsthand,” she says. “Sharing those perspectives helps humanize the issue. Especially here in Colorado – those effects are a bit more tangible because we see wildfire smoke and poor air quality quite often.”
She adds change will happen a lot faster if more healthcare providers get involved.
“We’ll see change that will actually mitigate the impact on our climate, especially from a health perspective,” she says. “We’ll be keeping communities safe and resilient to the realities that are happening on the ground.”
