PROFESSOR EUGENIE KAYAK Enterprise Professor of Sustainable Healthcare at The University of Melbourne Medical School, co-convenor of Sustainable Healthcare for Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) and an anaesthetist
MR BEN DUNNE Chair of The University of Melbourne Environmentally Sustainable Surgery Network, co-convenor of Sustainable Healthcare for Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) and a thoracic surgeon
Sustainable Health Care Opportunities for change The Problem
low carbon sector whilst simultaneously improving
The carbon footprint of Australia’s healthcare
the quality of healthcare provided and the sector’s
sector is disproportionally large. Estimated to account for 7% of Australia’s total carbon footprint and 2% of healthcare’s footprint globally (significant for only 0.33% of the world’s population). Unfortunately, Australia’s healthcare sector is therefore one of the highest per capita carbon emitters (along with Switzerland, Canada and the US). Fortunately, though, over the course of 2023 several important national and international initiatives have developed to enable the Australian health care sector to take a lead in addressing its carbon emissions and transform to a sustainable,
climate resilience. Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA), along with other organisations and healthcare leaders, has been able to directly participate in the development of these important initiatives. Several of these initiatives such as the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) Sustainable Healthcare Module, the National Climate and Health Strategy, renewable energy supply of healthcare facilities and the WHO supported Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate Change and Health (ATACH) are relevant to all involved, or concerned, with the future of healthcare’s delivery, quality of care and climate resilience. The Health Advocate • NOVEMBER 2023
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