Climate change is often portrayed as an environmental issue, but in 2026 it has clearly become a health care emergency. Extreme heatwaves, wildfires, flooding, air pollution, and vector-borne disease are not just environmental concerns — they are increasingly everyday realities for health care systems around the world. Meanwhile, the health sector itself is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, making the industry part of both the problem and the solution.
This paradox — that health care systems are harming planetary health even as they protect human health — presents both a moral obligation and a strategic imperative for radical transformation.
Why Climate Change Is Now a Health Crisis
Climate change inflicts direct and indirect damage on human health. Extreme weather events increase heat-related illness and mortality, degrade air quality, disrupt food and water supplies, and expand the range of infectious diseases. Canada, for example, is warming twice as fast as the global average, intensifying these risks.
But climate change does more than exacerbate existing health issues — it also overloads health systems. Hospitals, clinics, and emergency services face surges in demand during heatwaves, storms, or wildfire seasons, often without the infrastructure needed to respond effectively. Aging facilities — nearly half of Canada’s health care buildings are more than 50 years old — are especially vulnerable in climate emergencies.
The Health Sector’s Own Climate Footprint
Ironically, while health care confronts the effects of climate change, the sector also significantly contributes to it. In Canada health care accounts for about 4.6 % of national greenhouse gas emissions, a higher share than domestic aviation or shipping — making it one of the highest per-capita health care polluters globally.
Globally, the health sector’s contribution is similarly large — around 5 % of worldwide emissions when including facility operations, transportation, and supply chains. These emissions result from heating and cooling hospitals, transporting medical supplies, using single-use plastics, and manufacturing pharmaceuticals and equipment. Turning this around is not just symbolic — it’s essential to cutting emissions at scale.
The Dual Strategy: Adaptation and Mitigation
To effectively respond to climate change, health care systems need to pursue two complementary approaches:
Adaptation — Preparing for a Climate-Damaged Future
Adaptation focuses on strengthening health systems so they can withstand climate impacts:
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Climate-resilient infrastructure: New hospitals, like the forthcoming St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, are being designed with climate risk at the forefront — elevated above sea level, optimized for passive cooling, and equipped with robust backup power systems.
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Emergency readiness: Health authorities are developing heat-response plans, early warning systems, and surge capacity strategies to cope with climate-driven demand spikes.
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Public health surveillance and planning: Vulnerability assessments help identify at-risk populations — such as older adults or Indigenous communities — and tailor health interventions accordingly.
In Canada, federal initiatives like HealthADAPT are funding projects to build capacity within local health authorities, helping regions prepare for climate health threats and build resilience.
Mitigation — Reducing the Health Sector’s Carbon Footprint
Mitigation means cutting the sector’s emissions through systemic changes:
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Greener supply chains: Many emissions occur before products reach hospitals — in manufacturing and distribution. Moving to sustainable procurement and circular economy models can drastically reduce this footprint.
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Energy-efficient facilities: Retrofitting aging buildings with smart energy systems can cut both emissions and operating costs.
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Low-carbon clinical practices: Clinicians can influence emissions through medical decisions. Avoiding high-impact anesthetic gases and reducing unnecessary tests or procedures — supported by programs like Choosing Wisely — can advance climate goals while saving resources.
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Telehealth expansion: Virtual care reduces travel and facility use, lowering emissions while improving patient access.
These mitigation strategies show that climate action in health care doesn’t just protect the planet — it can also improve health outcomes and promote efficiency and resilience.
Economic and Policy Imperatives
Transitioning health care toward sustainability is not just about ethics — it’s about economics and policy.
The Cost of Inaction
Unchecked climate change imposes heavy costs. In Canada alone, climate-related health care costs could reach between $59 billion and $110 billion by 2050 due to increased hospital admissions, extended treatments, and emergency responses.
Moreover, climate emergencies disrupt services and infrastructure, raising treatment costs and undermining continuity of care. Building resilience now is far more cost-effective than repairing damaged systems later.
Policy Leadership Is Critical
Experts and health associations are calling for coherent policy frameworks that elevate climate and health as national priorities:
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A Climate and Health Secretariat within government would centralize planning and ensure a pan-national strategy.
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Mandatory sustainability standards for new health facilities and retrofits can drive long-term change.
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Coordinated action with environmental and infrastructure ministries can integrate health impact assessments into climate planning.
At the international level, collaboration through forums like WHO and COP climate conferences helps align health care with global decarbonization agendas.
Lessons from Leaders: A Global Perspective
Countries and systems pioneering climate-smart health care offer valuable blueprints:
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England’s National Health Service (NHS) has committed to net-zero emissions, cutting emissions equivalent to powering more than a million homes and embedding climate goals into legislation.
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Hospitals performing net-zero surgeries prove that environmentally sustainable medical practices are achievable and scalable.
These examples demonstrate that ambitious climate action and quality health care delivery are not mutually exclusive — and can rather reinforce each other.
A Health-Centered Climate Movement
The notion that health care must act on climate change is gaining traction because the stakes are now unmistakable: climate threats directly impair health, strain systems, and worsen inequities. But health care itself also has the tools and moral authority to lead change.
Whether through sustainability leaders within hospital networks or through policy advocates shaping national strategies, the health sector can be a catalyst for climate action — protecting both populations and the planet.
As the Canadian Medical Association and health partners emphasize, aligning health care with climate solutions isn’t optional — it’s essential for a healthy future and sustainable society.
