Summary by Dr Scott McAlister and Prof Alexandra Barratt
As published in The Lancet July 2022.
When we think of carbon (CO2) emissions we don’t often think of healthcare, yet healthcare in Australia is responsible for approximately 7% of national emissions. Approximately 30% of these emissions come from building energy, with most of the rest coming from medical products and processes, such as medical tests, devices and interventions. Carbon footprintingof products and processes involves quantifying emissions from all phases of a product’s life cycle, including extracting raw materials such as ore or gas, manufacturing, use, and then disposal such as through landfill or recycling.
Recent Australian carbon footprinting has been done for pathology testing, intensive care, anaesthesia, and diagnostic imaging. The imaging study showed that one MRI scan has a carbon footprint of 17.5kg CO₂ equivalents (CO2e), which is the same as driving a car 145km, while one CT scan has a footprint of 9.2kg CO₂e, or driving 76km. These are much higher than X-rays (0.76kg CO₂e, 6km) and ultrasound (0.53kg CO₂e, 4km). Reducing imaging or using lower carbon modalities reduces emissions.
One hidden area for healthcare is individuals’ travel for conferences. A return business class flight from Australia to the USA results in approximately 12 tonnes CO2e. By contrast, our individual annual carbon budget in 2030 to keep the world below 1.5°warming will be 2.2 tonnes CO2e.
Authors: McAllister S. et al; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2022.100459