Green hospitals face to climate change: Between sobriety and resilience
Alexandre Vallée
Abstract
Climate change poses a critical challenge to global health, influencing social and environmental determinants such as housing, air and water quality, and food security. This article explores the profound impact of climate change on health, projecting an additional 250,000 annual deaths from various climate-related diseases between 2030 and 2050. Healthcare systems significantly contribute to global carbon emissions. The concept of the "Green Hospital" is introduced as a paradigm shift in healthcare, focusing on optimizing resource efficiency and minimizing environmental impact. This concept encompasses renewable energy integration, natural lighting, sustainable materials, green roofs, and smart building management systems. Several challenges remain major, such as medical waste management, water conservation, chemical use, pollution, and plastic usage in healthcare settings. Moreover, obstacles to green hospital initiatives should be resolved, including system redundancy, regulatory compliance, operational demands, financial constraints, and cultural resistance. Conclusively, an urgent reformation of healthcare systems is needed to align with eco-friendly and sustainable practices, highlighting the necessity to reduce CO 2 emissions and manage resources and waste more effectively to meet the evolving health needs of a growing and aging global population.