Effort to Reframe Climate Change as a Health Crisis Gains Steam

In this article:


  • Research has increasingly shown that exacerbating heat waves, intensifying wildfires, heightening flood risks and worsening droughts are taking a deadly toll on human health.
  • Around the world, health care providers are already seeing the effects of climate change on their patients, as well as on the ability of hospitals to continue providing care during extreme weather.
  • Health care centers and hospitals are 2.5 times as energy intensive as other buildings, and while about 43,000 globally have committed to reducing their environmental impact, these facilities are in the minority.
  • Last year, in the midst of the pandemic, Providence pledged to go carbon negative by 2030, meaning that the company aims to remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it adds.
Red sky of a forest fire
“We are called to heal, and yet we are hurting the environment.” —Ali Santore Chief Advocacy and Sustainability Officer, Providence


This story was published on the New York Times website November 4, 2021.


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