“Change is already taking place across many areas that we identified in the HSE’s Climate Action Plan,” according to Dr Philip Crowley, National Director of Wellbeing, Equality, Climate and Global Health, HSE, speaking at the first of its kind conference involving the HSE’s Climate Action Programme and the Climate and Health Alliance in recent days.

Dr Crowley explained how:

“The healthcare sector is a notable contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for an estimated 5% of total emissions globally and is also responsible for responding to people’s changing health needs affected by climate change. Climate change is one of the greatest threats to public health across the globe, and as Ireland’s largest public body, we in the HSE recognise the significant role we can play in tackling the climate crisis.”

 Entitled ‘Making Ireland’s healthcare sector more sustainable and resilient in a warming world,’ the event involved discussions and interaction on the important initiatives to make Ireland’s healthcare sector more sustainable and resilient. According to Dr Crowley, “caring for the health of the environment goes hand-in-hand with caring for the health of patients. It will support and protect the health and wellbeing of future generations.”

Joint Declaration 

The conference’s main aim was to bring together 32 organisations that signed up to a Joint Declaration on planetary and human health. These organisations are predominantly members of the Climate and Health Alliance and include public and private healthcare providers, colleges and professional bodies. Signatories have made a commitment to work together, with immediate effect, to transition to a clean, healthy, sustainable, carbon-free, and socially-just environment.

Addressing the delegates, Dr Sean Owens, GP and Chair of the Climate and Health Alliance, explained that “sustainable healthcare isn’t a concession; it is quality evidence-based medicine that recognises the gravity of the accumulated climate and nature crisis and the consequences for health. The Climate and Health Alliance flips this paradigm and asks us to realise the generational health benefits of timely and just climate action. Active transport, sustainable diets, and access to nature are all wins for health and the planet. With this Joint Declaration, we now have a unified voice that recognises this and holds us accountable for what we need to do.”

HSE Climate Action Strategy 

The HSE launched its Climate Action Strategy 2023-2050 in June 2023. This health service-wide strategy aims to reduce the negative climate impacts of the health service on the environment, achieve net-zero emissions for the HSE by 2050, and deliver healthcare that is environmentally and socially sustainable.

The Climate and Health Alliance (CHA) was established in late 2019 to raise public awareness of the enormous public health harms caused by climate change while emphasising the significant health benefits that can be unlocked by tackling global warming.

Its members include health and social care professional organisations, non-governmental organisations, public health organisations, and advocacy groups from the island of Ireland. It provides a platform for health professionals and organisations to speak to these issues in unison. Made up of over 25 organisations, the Alliance advocates for greater government action in addressing the climate crisis so that health benefits are attained.

Stressing the urgency involved, Dr Crowley noted that “creating sustainable models of care across the various healthcare sectors in Ireland is an important goal of the HSE. But we really do have to act now and continue to do so into the future.”