Update: Glasgow Climate Conference

“More Than 40 Nations Pledge to Cut Emissions From Their Health Industries” written by Winston-Choi Schagrin delves into the highly interconnected relationship between healthcare and the climate crisis. During COP26, the U.N Climate Summit in Glasgow, public health was brought in as a major topic of conversation, revealing that the impact that climate change has on the environment with wildfires and droughts at the heart of the discussion. The direct impact of climate change on the public health of the general population was highly emphasized. Moreover, five percent of global greenhouse emissions are caused by the health-care sector, demonstrating that the currently established healthcare systems are exacerbating climate change, which leads to an influx in patients and overall sickness. To solve this issue, 40 countries pledged to cut greenhouse-gas emissions across their healthcare systems, and have also pledged to create a fund for low-income countries to be able to afford making their hospitals more environmentally friendly. Strides are definitely being made in the right direction with twelve countries pledging to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and all countries are joining the effort to fight climate change and keep our citizens healthy.