Health Care in a Climate Crisis: Estimating greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts of surgical procedures and hospital operations

We all value and depend on the health care system. It accounts for more than 11% of Canadian GDP and almost 40% of all provincial and territorial spending. Over several decades we have witnessed remarkable gains in the health of our population making Canada one of the healthiest countries in the world, in part due to the quality and ease with which we can access high quality health care. Unfortunately the delivery of health care results in the release of a large amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs), including carbon dioxide and other pollutants that contribute to climate change. Some estimates say that GHG emissions from health care are as much as those emitted by the aviation sector, approximately 8.5 megatonnes per year or 5% of Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions. The scientific evidence is very clear that current patterns of greenhouse gas emissions are contributing to a climate emergency. Thus there is a huge potential benefit to society if we can develop and evaluate tools to help with delivering health care that will both improve our health and lower greenhouse gas emissions. This research program will bring together private and academic researchers, clinicians, and health care executives to apply state-of-the-art methods and tools to estimate greenhouse gas emissions from the delivery of health care, and to develop, implement and evaluate innovative strategies to ensure high quality delivery of health services with low or minimal environmental impact.