HEALTHCARE'S RISING CARBON FOOTPRINT

According toa 2019 report by Health Care Without Harm HCWH), the global healthcare sector’s climate footprintis equivalent to 4.4 per cent of global net emissions, contributing around 2 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide into the environment

- Shivam Tyagi

As the climate clock goes on ticking, countries are preparing their healthcare infrastructures to deal with the greatest public health challenge of the modern age. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity. According to a 2019 report by Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), the global healthcare sector’s climate footprint is equivalent to 4.4 per cent of global net emissions, contributing around 2 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide into the environment.

“In the developed countries, due to the insurance coverage, healthcare has been accessible to a major chunk of the population, hence the emissions have been higher. Efforts are now ongoing to increase efficiencies and reduce the carbon footprint. However in India, as the access to healthcare rises on the back of universal health insurance schemes sponsored by the governments at the Centre and state-level, the carbon footprint is also likely to grow,” according to Antony Prashant, Partner, Deloitte India.

Types of Emissions