Planetary and human health are inseparably connected; yet, health-care systems produce considerable amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, waste and pollution. A growing movement to measure and mitigate the health sector’s own climate damage is underway, supported by national policies and clinical innovation.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 1 digital issues and online access to articles
$99.00 per year
only $99.00 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
IPCC. Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Summary for Policymakers (eds Pörtner, H.-O. et al.) (Cambridge University Press, 2022).
Smith, K. R. et al. in Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects Ch. 11, 709–754 (Cambridge University Press, 2014).
NHS. Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service. NHS https://www.england.nhs.uk/greenernhs/wp-content/uploads/sites/51/2020/10/delivering-a-net-zero-national-health-service.pdf (2020).
Eckelman, M. J. et al. Health care pollution and public health damage in the United States: an update. Health Aff. 39, 2071–2079 (2020).
Romanello, M. et al. The 2021 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: code red for a healthy future. Lancet 398, 1619–1662 (2021).
Mortimer, F. The sustainable physician. Clin. Med. 10, 110–111 (2010).
Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network & British Thoracic Society. SIGN 158: British guideline on the management of asthma. SIGN https://www.sign.ac.uk/media/1773/sign158-updated.pdf (2019).
Thiel, C. L. et al. Cataract surgery and environmental sustainability: waste and lifecycle assessment of phacoemulsification at a private healthcare facility. J. Cataract Refract. Surg. 43, 1391–1398 (2017).
Atkinson, S. et al. Defining quality and quality improvement. Clin. Med. 10, 537–539 (2010).
Watts, N. et al. Health and climate change: policy responses to protect public health. Lancet 386, 1861–1914 (2015).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mortimer, F., Pencheon, D. Do no harm: addressing the environmental impact of health care. Nat Rev Dis Primers 8, 38 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-022-00372-8
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-022-00372-8