Climate change is putting increasing strain on healthcare provision around the world. Already limited services are often disrupted by climate disasters, such as heatwaves, floods and droughts.
- Global heating drives a range of health impacts worldwide, including malnutrition, infectious vector-borne diseases, diarrhoea, heat stress, direct trauma and mental illness.
- The health sector – including health care delivery, facilities, operations and supply chains – accounts for 4.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The vast majority of these come from fossil fuel combustion and high-income countries.
- If global healthcare were a country, it would be the fifth largest climate polluter on the planet.
Sustainable, resilient health systems are needed to deliver care when and where it is needed in an unstable climate, without further damaging the environment.