Reducing Healthcare’s Carbon Footprint: Hospitals as Catalysts for Sustainable Change

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Ayat Errahmane Khemilet is a fifth-year medical student and National Officer on Medical Education at IFMSA Algeria. She is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

In 2026, climate change is no longer a distant threat but an immediate and escalating global health crisis. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and shifting disease patterns are already increasing morbidity and mortality worldwide. The Lancet Countdown reports that heat-related mortality among vulnerable populations has increased significantly over the past decades, while climate-sensitive diseases continue to expand their geographic reach. The World Health Organization estimates that climate change could cause an additional 250,000 deaths per year between 2030 and 2050 due to malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress alone.

This growing burden is unfolding alongside intensified global efforts to address the climate crisis. In 2026, an international conference in Colombia brought together over 50 countries to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels, reflecting increasing political recognition of the climate health nexus. At the same time, the anticipated return of El Niño is expected to amplify heatwaves and disrupt energy systems, further straining already fragile healthcare infrastructures.

Yet, a critical paradox remains: healthcare systems, designed to protect human health, are themselves significant contributors to environmental degradation. Globally, the healthcare sector is responsible for approximately 4–5% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Hospitals, in particular, are major drivers due to their continuous energy demands, resource-intensive operations, and complex supply chains.

Despite advancements in healthcare delivery such as referral systems that improve access and coordination he environmental dimension of care remains largely overlooked. Current models prioritize clinical efficiency but often rely on carbon-intensive infrastructures and practices, limiting their long-term sustainability.

This disconnect raises a fundamental question: can healthcare systems truly safeguard human health while contributing to the environmental changes that threaten it?

Hospitals stand at the center of this challenge and the solution. As hubs of innovation, leadership, and care delivery, they hold a unique capacity to drive systemic change. Transitioning toward sustainable practices is not only an environmental imperative but also a pathway to building resilient, future-ready health systems.

Beyond policies and statistics, however, lies a more personal reality. Every patient treated, every life saved within hospital walls exists within a broader ecosystem increasingly under threat. The air we breathe, the water we depend on, and the stability of our climate are no longer external to health they are its foundation. Protecting them is no longer optional; it is an extension of the very oath to care.

About the author

Ayat Errahmane Khemilet is a fifth-year medical student and National Officer on Medical Education at IFMSA Algeria. She has been actively engaged in medical education leadership, contributing to national initiatives focused on training, capacity building, and student development.

With a strong interest in global health, health systems strengthening, and sustainable healthcare, her work explores the intersection between medical education, innovation, and environmental responsibility. She has been involved in organizing and supporting educational programs aimed at empowering medical students and improving the quality of medical training at a national level.

She is committed to shaping a future generation of healthcare professionals who are not only clinically competent but also aware of the environmental and societal impact of healthcare systems, advocating for more resilient and sustainable approaches to medical practice.