Our Climate Work | Timeline
Highlights
2018
Global Green and Healthy Hospitals is Pleased to Announce the New and Improved Health Care Climate Challenge
The new Health Care Climate Challenge has a new name, a new look, a new anaesthetic gas measurement tool, and exciting new opportunities for participants to work toward 100% renewable electricity and carbon neutrality. Read mor
United Nations Development Programme and Health Care Without Harm Launch New Sustainable Health in Procurement Project
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with Health Care Without Harm, officially launched its new program Sustainable Health in Procurement Project (SHiPP) with an inception workshop that took place on 17th-19th April, in Istanbul, Turkey. Funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), SHiPP aims to reduce the harm to people and the environment caused by the manufacture, use and disposal of medical products and by the implementation of health programs. SHiPP is a four-year project aiming to promote sustainable procurement in the health sector, in the United Nations Agencies, and in key project countries through the reduction of toxicity of chemicals and materials in health products, the reduction of greenhouse gases in the supply chain and the conservation of resources. The program began its implementation in January 2018. Read more
2017
HCWH Europe Launches New Project to Measure GHG Emissions from European Hospitals
With financial support from The European Climate Initiative (EUKI), HCWH Europe recently launched a pilot project to support six European hospitals in measuring their carbon footprint, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the use of anaesthetic gases. During the project, which will run until March 2018, HCWH Europe will work with hospitals from France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden to measure emissions and share data. Read more
Health Care Call to Action on Climate Change (COP 23)
With global climate negotiations at COP23, leading hospitals and health systems around the world issued a Call to Action for the health sector to play a leadership role in tackling climate change.
Health Care Without Harm delivered the Call to Action to the World Health Organization's Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, during a high-level event on climate and health at COP23. "The health impacts of climate change and the health benefits of climate action are becoming increasingly clear,” said Director General Tedros. "Health care, with its hospitals on the front lines, must be part of the solution." Read more
Climate and Health Roundtable (COP 23)
On the 9th and 10th of November, approximately 20 hospitals and health systems from across Europe and beyond gathered at a roundtable meeting in Bonn, to discuss healthcare’s climate change mitigation, adaptation, and leadership opportunities.
The two-day high-level roundtable meeting was convened by a partnership between the European Healthcare Climate Council, Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) Europe, and BUND Berlin. It was hosted in Bonn, Germany by the LVR Klinik, and Bonn University Hospital. Read more
U.S. State, City Climate Leaders: “We Are Still In”
“We’re here, we’re in and we’re not going away,” California Governor Jerry Brown said of many U.S. states and cities at the ongoing UN climate talks in Bonn. Despite President Donald Trump’s vow to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement on climate, many U.S. states and cities are still committed to the Agreement. For the first time at a COP, the United States has not erected an official pavilion. Read more
Regional Resilience Summit in Cleveland a Success
The City of Cleveland, Cleveland Clinic, and Health Care Without Harm recently partnered to host a resilience summit focused on health care’s role in building climate resilience in the region. Read more
Health Care Leaders Tackle Boston’s Extreme Weather Readiness and Mitigation Through 'Resilience 2.0'
The connection between health care institutions and communities they serve is especially critical during and after extreme weather events. In Boston, public policy makers and health care institutions are focusing on improving health care’s resilience to climate change impacts with an emphasis on community health and resilience. Health Care Without Harm convened a summit, made possible in part by sponsorship support from The Barr Foundation and co-hosted by Partners HealthCare, to catalyze climate action planning for metro Boston with more than 100 health care service providers and community stakeholders. Read more
Australia | Leading Health Experts Launch a Framework for a National Climate and Health Strategy
HCHW’s strategic partner in Australia, the Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA), spearheaded a movement to achieve a national strategy on climate, health and well-being for Australia. This builds on work done in 2013 when CAHA first called for a National Plan for Climate, Health and Wellbeing in Australia. In June of 2016, CAHA released its Discussion Paper: Towards a National Strategy on Climate, Health and Well-being to health care stakeholders. This paper provides a review of the health impacts of climate change in Australia. Read more
New World Bank Report Calls for Health Sector Leadership on Climate
Geneva-- The World Bank Group’s health and climate directors released a report establishing a new framework for health systems in every country to become leaders in addressing climate change. The report is a joint production with Health Care Without Harm.
In its title, the report coins the term Climate-Smart Health Care, an approach that sets forth both low-carbon and resilience strategies. These strategies are designed for the development community, ministries of health, hospitals and health systems to deploy while addressing the health impacts of climate change. Read more
HCWH, China Health Ministry Research Center, UK Organization Sign Green Hospital Pact
On January 17, 2017, an "International Symposium on Developing Green Health Care System and Facilitating the Implementation of Healthy China Strategy" was held in Beijing, China by the China National Health Development Research Center (NHDRC), which showcased a multilateral and cross-sector dedication to green health care system development in China. Health leaders from China, the U.S, Korea and UK got together to share research and practical experience on green hospitals and health management. As a milestone of the three parties' cooperation, NHDRC, HCWH and SDU International have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for an International Collaboration to build a green health care system in China at the conference. Read more
India | Health Sector Leaders Launch the Health and Environment Leadership Platform
Representatives of more than 5,000 healthcare institutions and several thousand healthcare professionals around the country that form the Health and Environment Leadership Platform (HELP) released a joint statement today calling for concerted action to reduce air pollution in India. Read more
2016
Acting for a Low Carbon Future - Conference on Climate and Health Care (COP 22)
On November 14, Health Care Without Harm and Global Green and Healthy Hospitals (GGHH) member, the Mohammed VI University Hospital hosted the Climate and Health Care Conference in parallel to COP22 in Marrakech, Morocco. The event, the first of its kind to be held in the country, brought together health sector leaders from around Morocco, Europe, and beyond to share strategies for the health sector to mitigate its own climate impacts, develop low carbon models of care, and use their voice, both individually and collectively, to advocate for policies to address climate change and public health. Read more
Health Care Without Harm Dupports World Medical Association's Call for Divestment
During its annual assembly in Taiwan, the World Medical Association (WMA) called on health organizations to divest from fossil fuel based companies and to invest in companies that uphold environmental principles consistent with United Nations policy. Health Care Without Harm supported the WMA's call for divest and similarly urges health care organizations around the world to move towards clean energy solutions. Read more
HCWH Urges Governments to Invest in Low Carbon, Climate-Resilient Health Care
Manila, Philippines — As health and environment leaders met in Manila for the World Health Organization’s Asia Pacific Regional Forum on Environment and Health (4th Regional Forum), Health Care Without Harm Asia urged governments of Southeast and East Asian countries to protect public health from climate change and to invest in building low-carbon and climate-resilient health facilities. Read more
Dignity Health Urges Bold Climate Leadership at Clean Energy Ministerial
"Hospitals and health systems from most every Clean Energy Ministerial country are participating in Health Care Without Harm’s 2020 Health Care Climate Challenge, demonstrating innovative ways to create low carbon health care that can be scaled across national systems," said Sister Susan Vickers, Vice President of Community Health for Dignity Health (2020 Challenge participant), in her dinner address at the seventh Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM7).
This annual meeting of energy ministers and other high-level delegates from the 23 CEM member countries and the European Commission is an opportunity for the major economies to collaborate on solutions that advance clean energy globally and demonstrate tangible follow-up actions to COP21. Read more
"Reaching a Tipping Point": Climate a Key Issue at World Health Assembly
Christiana Figueres, head of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, came to the World Health Assembly (WHA) to urge ministers of health to prioritize climate change. Figueres eloquently argued that "working on climate change is [our] best prevention strategy" and that ministers need to use “the health microphone…[to] translate what climate change actually means for real people.” Read more
New Exchange Aims to Bleed Green, Not Red
The idea for Greenhealth Exchange (GX) emerged from the goals that Practice Greenhealth (PG) and Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) members were pursuing with industry initiatives, focused on areas like healthy interiors and safer chemicals, as well as an overall goal to accelerate the adoption of green and sustainable products. Read more
Kaiser Permanente Pledges Bold 2025 Environmental Performance to Benefit People and Planet
Kaiser Permanente, the US largest integrated health system, announced new and ambitious environmental goals for the year 2025 that include becoming carbon positive, buying only sustainably produced food and sending zero waste to landfills. Read more
Health Professionals Call on G7 Nations to Phase Out Coal
82 organizations from 30 countries representing more than 300,000 doctors, nurses, and public health professionals and advocates called on G7 nations to accelerate the transition away from coal to save lives. Healthy Energy Initiative partners Health Care Without Harm, the Health and Environment Alliance, and the Climate and Health Alliance, along with the Initiative’s health sector partners in several countries, were among the signatories of the Global Health Statement on Coal Plants. Read more
Launch of European Healthcare Climate Council
Established by Health Care Without Harm Europe in 2016, the European Healthcare Climate Council (EHCC) is a coalition of hospitals and health systems that are committed to strengthening the health sector’s response to climate change.
The EHCC is built on the recognition that climate change is the largest public health threat of the 21st century. The healthcare sector is contributing an enormous amount of harmful emissions, which in turn undermines the health of the same population it is meant to heal. The healthcare sector has a unique opportunity to be a global leader in protecting health from climate change, starting with reducing its own GHG emissions. Read more
2015
Paris Round-up | The New Climate Treaty and Health Care Action
This blog post focuses on what happened around health in Paris and what Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) and our allies achieved on the road to Paris and particularly during the "Paris Moment." Read more
Hospitals Worldwide Join Together in the Fight Against Climate Change (COP 21)
Health system representatives from around the world have gathered in Paris to announce a series of commitments to reduce carbon emissions and exert leadership to combat climate change.
More than 50 major health systems, hospitals, and health organizations representing over 8,200 hospitals and health centers in 16 countries from every continent, have come together to join the 2020 Health Care Climate Challenge. Led by Health Care Without Harm, these health systems are pledging to reduce their own carbon footprint, become climate resilient anchors in their communities, and pursue both political and economic solutions that will protect public health from climate change. Read more
Climate and Leadership Roundtable (COP 21)
Health systems from all over the world met at the Health Care Climate Leadership Roundtable on December 3, in Paris, during the United Nations COP21. The Roundtable took place at the oldest hospital in Paris, Pitié-Salpêtrière, in a building built before the French revolution. The Roundtable, a 30 person closed-door meeting, was the first global gathering ever of health systems working on climate change. Major health care systems and organizations from Europe, the U.S., and Asia, along with representatives from WHO and other UN agencies came together to share experiences and strategies, while forging plans to scale-up health care engagement on climate change.Read more
Launch of the Paris Platform for Healthy Energy at COP21
The Paris Platform, endorsed by over 40 organisations representing the health sector in more than 80 countries, demonstrates a commitment to leadership and advocacy for clean, renewable, healthy energy choices in order to protect public health from both climate change and local pollution. Read more
Health Groups Call for Clean Energy Ahead of Paris Climate Talks
Organizations representing health sector in over 80 countries called for a shift from fossil fuels to renewables, citing health and financial benefits.
Health organizations spanning every continent issued a call to end society’s deadly and costly dependence on fossil fuels. The Paris Platform for Healthy Energy reflects a growing consensus among health professionals and organizations across the globe that shifting to clean, renewable energy will protect public health from both global climate change and the impacts of local pollution. Read more
Lancet report calls climate change "The greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century"
“Tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century.” This finding, the central message of the second Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change, attempts to answer the stark conclusion of the first Lancet Climate Change Commission, published in 2009—namely, that “Climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.” Read more
“Protecting Climate and Promoting Health in Asia” Seoul Declaration on Climate and Health
On October 29-30, 2015, GGHH members and colleagues from around Asia came together in Seoul, South Korea for the 2nd GGHH Asia Regional Conference. Hosted by Yonsei University, the conference provided an opportunity to learn both about innovative sustainability efforts being implemented at hospitals and health centers around the region, as well as new global initiatives for the health sector to participate in to address climate change.
Conference attendees collaboratively develop a declaration stating their commitment to continue working to reduce their impacts on environmental health, public health, and climate change as well as a call for others to join. Read more
Health Care Commitment to Tackle Climate Change Launched at Clinton Global Initiative
Health Care Without Harm, sponsored by the Skoll Foundation, unveiled a commitment at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) to reduce health care’s carbon footprint in order to protect public health from climate change. Read more
A Declaration on Climate Change and Health, issued as part of the National Dialogue on Climate Change and Health at the White House
We, a coalition of leading public health, disease advocacy and medical organizations, reiterate our longstanding commitment to addressing climate change as a public health issue as part of the National Dialogue on Climate Change and Health at the White House on June 23, 2015. This statement articulates our consensus on the health impacts of climate change and the need for action to protect public health. Read more
Climate Change and Health Policy Assessment Project Report: A Global Survey 2015
This report summarizes the results from a global survey to evaluate the actions of national governments in protecting the health of their citizens from the impacts of climate change. Read more
Health Systems Worldwide Pledge Climate Action (Launch of the 2020 Health Care Climate Challenge)
Nine leading health care institutions from across the globe pledged to take meaningful action on climate change, kicking off a worldwide campaign to mobilize hospitals and health systems to address one of humanity’s most pressing problems.
Their commitment signaled the launch of the 2020 Health Care Climate Challenge, an international initiative from Health Care Without Harm’s Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Network. The 2020 Challenge invited health care systems and hospitals to reduce their carbon footprint and protect public health from climate change in the run-up to a worldwide meeting of heads of state at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change this December in Paris. Read more
Pope Francis Releases Encyclical on Climate Change
Pope Francis released Laudato Si (Be Praised), On the Care of Our Common Home, his long awaited Encyclical on the environment. The open letter is intended to shape Catholic teaching globally about humanity’s responsibility to tackle the root causes of the greatest interlinked challenges of our time: climate change and poverty. The Encyclical urges climate action as a moral obligation for all of humankind. Read more
Debut of the Healthy Energy Initiative at the 14th World Congress of Public Health
Led by Health Care Without Harm, the Healthy Energy Initiative made its debut on February 10th-15th at the World Federation of Public Health Association's 14th Triennial World Congress on Public Health (WCPH) in Kolkata, India. The Healthy Energy Initiative aims to mobilize the health sector to play a central role advocating for a move away from fossil fuel-based power generation—particularly coal—and toward clean, renewable healthy energy options. Read more
2014
Negotiating for Health at COP20 in Lima (COP 20)
At the Lima Climate and Health Summit, health and climate leaders – including Peru’s Minister of Health, UNFCCC’s Chief of Staff, and World Bank Group Vice President – spoke about the health consequences of climate change, the co-benefits to health of climate action, and the urgent political commitments needed to turn the threat of climate change into an opportunity for better health. Read more
Health Professionals Call for Climate Action in Response to UN Report
The Global Climate and Health Alliance (HCWH is a founding member) has released a briefing report, video and series of infographics to explain the health implications of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Working Group II report. The Alliance argues that there is still time to turn what has been called “the biggest global health threat of the 21st century” into one of our biggest opportunities to improve health. Read more
Health Care Without Harm Launches the Health Care Climate Council
In an effort to build a unified voice among hospitals committed to addressing climate change, Health Care Without Harm established the Health Care Climate Council in 2014.
The Health Care Climate Council is a leadership body of health systems committed to protecting their patients and employees from the health impacts of climate change and becoming anchors for resilient communities. Health Care Climate Council members implement innovative climate solutions, inspire and support others to act, and use their trusted voice and purchasing power to move policy and markets to drive the transformation to climate-smart health care. Read more
2013
Global Climate and Health Summit (COP 19)
Poland — The second Global Climate and Health Summit "An Inter-sectoral Road-Map to 2015" was held on November 16, 2013 from 9:00-17:00 at the Warsaw Marriott Hotel in parallel with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change's 19th Conference of the Parties (COP19) negotiations in Poland.
The Summit brought together key health sector actors to discuss the impacts of climate change on public health and solutions that promote greater health, as well as economic equity between and within nations. The event also coordinated action across all sectors to protect human health from the impacts of climate change and will build a road-map for the international health community to work towards in the run up to the 2015 climate negotiations in Paris. Read more
Coal Combustion Poses Serious Risks to Human Health, Review Finds
US — A new scientific review documenting the evidence of the health impacts from coal use in energy generation has been released by researchers from the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).
The pollutants generated from coal combustion have profound effects on the health of local communities but can also travel long distances, affecting communities remote from power plants, according to the review. Lead author Dr. Susan Buchanan, MD, MPH, Associate Professor and Director, University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System's Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, said the review findings demonstrated it was vital that energy policy decisions took into account the harm caused to human health from fossil fuels and from coal in particular. Read more
Health Care Without Harm President Gary Cohen Named Champions of Change by White House
US — Washington, DC — Health Care Without Harm announced that its President and Founder, Gary Cohen, has been named a Champion of Change in the category of Climate and Health by the White House. The honor is bestowed on Cohen and others who are leaders in making the link between climate and health, and helping the health sector lead the effort to reduce their contributions to climate change and prepare their communities for the threats to health related to climate change. Two of HCWH’s close allies were also selected as Champions of Change. They are Jeff Thompson, MD, CEO of Gundersen Health System of LaCrosse, WI, and Laura Anderko, PhD, RN. The White House will hold a ceremony to honor the recipients on July 9, 2013.
2012
HCWH Founder, Gary Cohen Joins Former Vice-president and Nobel Laureate Al Gore, to Discuss Climate Change and Health
On November 2012, Gary Cohen joined the 24 Hours of Reality: The Dirty Weather Report. Broadcast live on the Internet. For this event, HCWH brought together key health sector actors from around the world to discuss the impacts of climate change on public health and solutions that promote greater health. Read more
DOHA Declaration on Climate, Health and Wellbeing
Building upon 2011's successful climate and health summit an informal alliance of health organizations around the world - including Health Care Without Harm, World Medical Association, the International Council of Nurses, International Federation of Medical Students Climate and Health Alliance and others - prepared a statement aimed at climate negotiators currently meeting in Doha.
The Declaration detailed why health experts are extremely worried about the slow progress at the international climate negotiations, and highlights why health co-benefits can be important argument for ambitious climate mitigation. Read more
RIO+20 Greening the Health Sector Event
Brazil — In an event co-organized by the International NGO Health Care Without Harm, the WHO and the Sustainable Development Unit of England's National Health Service, and sponsored by the United States Department of State, four panelists discussed how the health sector can play a leading role in promoting sustainability by reducing its environmental footprint, thereby also promoting public health. Read more
2011
HCWH Launches Global Environmental Health Agenda for Hospitals
Buenos Aires — Health Care Without Harm launched a new initiative designed to foster greater ecological sustainability and environmental health in the health care sector around the world.
The Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Agenda is a framework for hospitals and health systems to reduce their ecological footprint and play a leading role in addressing major environmental health challenges--such as chemical contamination, medical waste and climate change-- in the hospital setting and the broader community.
Launched at the First Latin American Conference of Hospitals for Environmental Health, the Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Agenda has ten interconnected goals. Read more
South Africa | Health Leaders Call for Urgent Action on Climate
International health leaders in Durban for the global climate talks have called on negotiators to push for the most ambitious commitments possible, warning that the direction of current negotiations risks the lives of billions of people around the globe.
Over 200 leaders from more than 30 countries have issued a Declaration and Call to Action following a Global Climate and Health Summit. Read more
1st Global Climate and Health Summit | Durban, South Africa
On December 4, 2011, Health Care Without Harm co-organized the First Climate and Health Summit, which took place parallel to the UNFCCC meetings at the Tropicana Hotel in Durban, South Africa.
The event brought key health sector actors from around the world together to discuss the impacts of climate change on public health and solutions that promote greater health, as well as economic equity between and within nations.
2010
Cancun Statement | Climate change: the time to act is now (COP 16)
Acting now for better health: a 30% reduction target for EU climate policy
Acting NOW for better health: A 30% reduction target for EU climate policy was a co-publication with Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) that quantified the health benefits for Europeans of stronger EU action on climate change for both the EU and different Member States. It reframed the current discussions from climate costs to climate benefits, particularly for people’s health and healthcare systems. Read more
2009
Prescription for a Healthy Planet | Health Leaders Called for Strong Measures on Climate Change (COP 15)
Barcelona — Some of the world's largest medical, nursing and public health organisations called on world leaders to take bold action to address climate change. They said that this is needed to avert what could become a global public health crisis.
A giant placard, "Prescription for a Healthy Planet" symbolically represented the interests of millions of health professionals in more than 120 countries whose organisations have endorsed it. The placard was handed to United Nations officials at the climate talks. Read more
Health Care Sector Leaders Urged Obama to Deliver "Prescription for Healthy Planet" to Reduce Health Effects of Climate Change
Healthy Hospitals, Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Addressing Climate Change in Health Care Settings
This paper was the first step in a WHO project in collaboration with Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) aimed at addressing the climate footprint of the health sector. This paper begins to define a framework for analysing and addressing the health sector's climate footprint — including identifying seven aspects of a climate-friendly hospital. It also draws on a series of examples from around the world that demonstrate that the health sector is indeed already beginning to provide leadership in this most important area of concern to the global community. Read more
