Healthcare greenhouse gas emissions represent the fifth largest contributor globally.
The three largest healthcare systems in the world, in the US, China, and the European Union, contribute more than half of the healthcare’s worldwide emissions. Adoption of improved waste capture systems and adoption of the Healthcare Climate Change initiative crucial to long term success.
The director-general of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said hospitals and other health sector facilities were a source of carbon emissions, contributing to climate change: “Places of healing should be leading the way, not contributing to the burden of disease.”