Environmentally sustainable emergency medicine

Emergency clinicians worldwide are demonstrating increasing concern about the effect of climate change on the health of the populations they serve. The movement for sustainable healthcare is being driven by the need to address the climate emergency. Globally, healthcare contributes significantly to carbon emissions, and the healthcare sector has an important role to play in contributing to decarbonisation of the global economy. In this article, we consider the implications for emergency medicine of climate change, and suggest ways to improve environmental sustainability within emergency departments. We identify examples of sustainable clinical practice, as well as outlining research proposals to address the knowledge gap that currently exists in the area of provision of environmentally sustainable emergency care.

Automated summary

This article highlights the impact of climate change on emergency medicine and proposes measures to improve environmental sustainability. The issue of carbon emissions in the healthcare sector needs to be addressed, and there is a need to fill the knowledge gap in environmentally sustainable emergency care.