Climate change is no longer a distant future threat, but a scarring reality. Existing environmental issues could not be ignored any longer as the United Nations Climate Change conference has demonstrated to us. Regardless of all the controversy around COP21 (some argue the harmful impact on the environment caused by flying all the politicians to Paris), some very important resolutions were finally made. The international community has accepted the importance of climate impact and agreed to take serious measures and limit warming to below 2°C (3.6°F) by the end of the century. This ambitious plan means that several countries, such as China will have to transition from carbon-intensive economy to a more sustainable model. There will also be a 100-billion-dollar investment in the economy of the developing countries in order to help them to transition to a more environment friendly sources of energy without suffering a severe economical loss.
With the recent snow storm covering Boston and New York and horrific smog in Beijing we are facing the drastic socioeconomic consequences of climate change. Healthcare specialists are telling us that climate change can lead to an increase in asthma, aggressive allergies and lead to the appearance of new pathogens and pests in different communities. The Lancet, Britain’s leading health journal has even addressed climate change as the “biggest threat of the 21st century”.
Is the Healthcare sector truly prepared for upcoming public health storm? For example, recent hurricanes in the United States have unfortunately demonstrated that the ability of the public sector to respond to the climate change are still at the very debutant stage.
Firstly, hospitals need to be fully equipped to remain wholly operational during the drastic weather conditions instead of being their victim. Another challenge would be a transition of the world economy to the post-fossil fuel era. This will certainly have impact on the healthcare sector. Therefore, it would be important to reduce hospital’s dependence on the fossil fuel energy through alternative sources. If a hospital can operate on the alternative sources of energy, it can better and longer be functional during extreme weather events. We are already witnessing some of these initiatives being implemented, for example smart LED lightning, that helps to save great amount of energy. We hope to see several more projects coming out in Switzerland during the Debiopharm Inartis Challenge competition that aims to improve the life of the patients during their stay in the hospital.
In current situation it is crucial that healthcare sector will also take a role in the education regarding the climate change. WHO states that “the health sector must add its voice – loud and clear – and fight to place health issues at the center of the climate agenda.” Already in 2009 WHO together with Healthcare without harm released a document on addressing climate change in healthcare settings. That paper included 7 aspects of a climate-friendly hospital (energy efficiency, green building design, transportation, alternative energy generation, food, waste and water).
Our aim to address the impact of the climate change in the healthcare sector is also an opportunity for entrepreneurship. In September 2015 a social enterprise accelerator GoodCompany ventures has announced the official launch of a new program for start-ups trying to address climate change. In local start-up ecosystem here in Switzerland we might be expecting a rise of multiple initiatives as one of the biggest start-up accelerators MassChallenge expands its program to Switzerland.
Our awareness of the climate change and its impact on the healthcare has finally captured the attention of government and private foundations leading to in cash and in kind investments in the alternative sources of energy. There is still a lot of work to be done, but at least we are on the right track.
by Dr. Ksenia Tugay, Innovation & Development Manager, Inartis Foundation, CMO MassChallenge Switzerland