Axios House: Climate change is creating a human health crisis

NEW YORK – Climate change is increasingly recognized as a global health crisis, said attendees at an Axios House Expert Voices roundtable on Sept. 23.

The details: Health care and climate leaders gathered for a private roundtable at Axios House during Climate Week and UNGA to discuss sustainable innovation within the healthcare system.

• Axios health care reporter Maya Goldman and host/editor Niala Boodhoo moderated the event, which was sponsored by Philips.

Climate change is a "human health crisis," said Climeworks global head of healthcare partnerships Hussein Dhanani. "0.2 degrees has a big impact on human life."

As much as climate change impacts people's health, Philips global head of sustainability Robert Metzke noted that "health care is also extremely polluting and contributing" to the issue.

• Emmie Mediate, U.S. chief program officer for Health Care Without Harm, said the healthcare industry is "used as the exception" by the fossil fuel industry.
• Companies often say that plastics save lives, and fossil fuels are essential to treat patients. "That is certainly true to an extent, but we can't let ourselves off that easy," she said.
• "Of course, we want to continue to provide care to patients and that's going to take energy to do that. We don't want to deny anyone care…during this transition process. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to get to a place and we shouldn't let ourselves off just to sort of give the fossil fuel industry that excuse."

Health care systems around the world are "under-resourced [and] overstretched," said Pam Cheng, AstraZeneca's EVP of Global Operations and IT and chief sustainability officer. However, early disease detection and treatment can help alleviate some of that burden on the system and environment, said Pam Cheng, AstraZeneca's EVP of Global Operations and IT and chief sustainability officer.

• The climate crisis "impacts quite a bit disproportionately the underserved population in certain geographies."
• "If we can keep the patients out of the hospital…it's better for the patients, it's better for the system and it's better for the environment."

When it comes to government regulations helping usher health care into a sustainable future, HHS Office of Climate Change and Health Equity director John Balbus said until the "industry is ready to accept regulations, those regulations will not be successful."

• "The role of the government is to show the way, is to document success, is to create community of practices, is to develop technical assistance, is to create the models and document that they work, and move towards a setting where we understand the optimal practice and it's generally accepted to the point where we're making it a requirement where everybody will succeed."

AI is transforming every sector, including health care, but it doesn't come without its own environmental risks.

• "There's so much possibility and hype around AI, but not enough discussion about the energy consumption needed to drive it," said National Academy of Medicine president Victor Dzau.
• Cornell Tech's Health Tech Hub clinical innovation director Chethan Sarabu said the rapid pace the industry is implementing AI highlights the importance of prioritizing sustainability.
• "Focusing on 'how do we sustainably advance healthy AI', I think is a critical care and important aspect of the time we're in," Sarabu said.
• He suggested that health care systems could pledge that "all of [their] new AI initiatives need to come from renewable energy" to balance the need to innovate while also being sustainably-minded.