Sustainable medicine is an emerging multidisciplinary field of practice dedicated to improving the health of our patients in the face of climate change, and driving the transition to net zero healthcare.
Background
From extremes of heat and worsening asthma to the spread of infectious disease, climate change is directly threatening human health and disrupting healthcare access and delivery across the globe. Contributing more to carbon emissions than shipping and aviation combined, health systems are often exacerbating this threat, undermining their central mission to deliver care for our patients and the public.
The health response to climate change is rapidly gaining pace in health systems on every continent. This inevitable transition needs new tools to guide clinical best-practice, rapid evidence generation to support timely policy decisions, and a new kind of healthcare leader to be at the forefront of the change.
The Centre for Sustainable Medicine’s three pathways to deliver change