Low-carbon Healthcare in the Mediterranean Region

The global healthcare sector’s climate footprint is equivalent to 4.4% of global net greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, which negatively impacts the health of the very communities the sector serves. There is, therefore, a powerful incentive for the healthcare sector to take action – firstly to reduce the volume of its greenhouse gas emissions, and secondly to become a leading advocate for societal and political action on climate change.

As global temperatures are increasing so are the negative health impacts and the Mediterranean region already faces specific threats from climate change (e.g. extreme heat waves and rising sea levels), but also has many opportunities to prevent or reduce emissions (e.g. solar energy and energy efficient cooling). The project aimed to address these opportunities and challenges and to facilitate the transition to low-carbon healthcare by working with hospitals in the Mediterranean region. 

The project helped participating hospitals to establish internal carbon management teams and plans, facilitated knowledge and best practice sharing, and encouraged replication across the Mediterranean region through a low-carbon healthcare toolkit that can be used by other hospitals. The toolkit was presented alongside case studies from participating hospitals at the 2021 European Healthcare Climate Summit (EHCS) hosted in the Mediterranean region. 

The project also developed policy recommendations in consultation with a broad range of relevant stakeholders from within and outside of the Mediterranean healthcare sector. These policy recommendations helped to identify legislative changes necessary to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon healthcare sector in the region.

• Climate protection plans for hospitals: Climate protection plans have been drawn up for four hospitals in Spain, Portugal, and Greece and approved by hospital management. They stipulate that the hospitals should become climate neutral by 2050 and that CO₂ emissions should be reduced by 19 percent by 2030 compared to the reference year 2019, resulting in total savings of around 17,031 tons of CO₂ (2020–2030). 
• Support for systematic climate protection planning: The project team developed a tool for decarbonization in the healthcare sector, enabling hospitals to systematically integrate climate protection into their planning. It provides employees with tools for calculating emissions, templates, practical instructions, and case studies, making it easier for them to draw up their own climate protection plans. The toolkit was presented at the European Healthcare Climate Summit 2021 and at CleanMed Europe, reaching key players who are driving climate protection in the healthcare sector across Europe.  
• Policy advice: The project team developed recommendations for decarbonizing the healthcare sector and presented them to the health ministries in Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, as well as to high-level EU decision-makers such as the EU Health Commissioner and the Vice President for the European Green Deal. This allows important insights from the collaboration with hospitals to be incorporated into political processes.