Co-Benefits of Climate Mitigation

Important economic and health co-benefits result from reducing the health sector's climate footprint.

The potential economic benefits of reducing the health sector's climate footprint are significant. In recent years, health systems around the world have seen their budgets shaken by volatile energy prices. The cost of fossil fuels promises to increase further in the years to come, so conservation, efficiency and alternative energy measures will carry long-term financial benefits.

Moreover, fossil fuel combustion associated with building energy use and transportation produces not only global warming gasses such as carbon dioxide, but also a series of other pollutants that add to the environmental burden of disease. WHO reports document how air pollution, water contamination, and other forms of environmental degradation already cause millions of deaths around the world each year - problems that will only grow worse if steps are not taken to mitigate climate change. By reducing its climate footprint, the health sector in many countries can contribute to improving the health and living conditions of populations in heavily polluted areas.

Finally, in many countries, emphasis on primary health care demonstrably lowers the need for more resource-intensive therapies later on. By reducing the demand for more intensive therapies through disease prevention strategies, the climate footprint of the health sector will also be reduced. This in turn creates a positive spiral, reducing the burden of disease that the health sector's fossil fuel consumption contributes to. In this regard, by reducing the need for energy-intensive health-care services, primary health care and disease prevention can be seen as forms of climate mitigation.