Canada's health-care sector is among the worst in the world in terms of greenhouse gas pollution and the sector requires concerted efforts to chart a new course to be consistent with its mandate to “do no harm,” says a new report.
The report, known as the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, highlights four key areas where Canada can make the biggest difference to reduce the ever-growing impact of climate change on health.
Greenhouse gas, wildfires, pollution, climate change all cited
The issues include that Canada has the third-highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions from health care in the world; that 440,000 Canadians have been displaced due to wildfires since the 1980s, more than half in the last decade; that more than 1,000 Canadians are estimated to have died in 2015 as a result of traffic-related air pollution; and that the health of Canadians, particularly Indigenous populations, is at risk due to an increase in climate change-related severe weather events, infectious disease patterns and more.
Report makes recommendations
The report makes four recommendations: develop a national sustainable initiative designed to support the greening of the health sector, including waste reduction and greenhouse gas reductions by 2050; learn the lessons from recent severe wildfires to strengthen a pan-Canadian emergency response approach; develop legislation requiring automakers to gradually increase the annual percentage of new light-duty vehicles sold that are zero emissions, working toward a target of 100% by 2040 and make health a key consideration in climate-related policy-making across sectors.
