User:Michelle312/Healthcare in Canada

Canadian healthcare's contribution to Climate Change
Climate change is a growing concern all around the world, and its causes vary from multiple factors. It has been identified that Climate change is the single greatest public health threat of the 21st century. The healthcare sector in Canada contributes to climate change, and it was responsible for 4.6% of national greenhouse gas emission in 2009 to 2015. With the relationship between air pollution and human health, it was estimated by researchers that "every year, health care emissions result in 23 000 years of life lost due to disability or early death".

The health sector has contributed to pollution in various ways, with Hospitals and Pharmaceutical companies as the largest drivers of its emissions according to the PLOS Medicine study. There is also the impact of medical waste, anesthetics used in surgery, and unsustainable materials which are all greenhouse gases.

There have been projects led by The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care with the aim to reduce the environmental impacts of providing healthcare, such as reducing toxic chemicals when cleaning and promoting sustainable foods in hospitals. They recently studied medical imaging equipment's energy consumption. When patients and hospital staff travel to hospitals and clinics they release greenhouse gas, which can be viewed as part of the equation.