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A campaign to engage 50,000 health �professionals around climate change and health

A collaboration between Health Care Without Harm �and Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments

•The Nurses Climate Challenge is the first attempt at launching a national movement that revolves around nurses educating their health care colleagues on the health impacts of climate change.

•This challenge involves recruiting Nurse Climate Champions, who will have access to a set of online resources created by Health Care Without Harm and Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments.

•Health Care Without Harm is an international nonprofit with the mission of transforming “health care worldwide so that it reduces its environmental footprint and becomes a community anchor for sustainability and a leader in the global movement for environmental health.”

•Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments is a national nonprofit nursing organization with the mission of “promoting healthy people and healthy environments by educating and leading the nursing profession, advancing research, incorporating evidence-based practice, and influencing policy.”

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Nurses Climate Challenge goals

Educate 50,000 health professionals on climate change and health.
Build a cohort of informed and more-engaged health professionals in care settings.
Launch a movement of health professionals committed to climate solutions at home and in care settings.

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Greenhouse Gases

Courtesy of the National Climate Assessment (2014)

Figure 1. Red bars show temperatures above the long-term average, and blue bars indicate temperatures below the long-term average. The black line shows atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in parts per million (ppm). (National Climate Assessment, 2014)

Humans began burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas at the end of the 19^th century.
Burning fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases into earth’s atmosphere – the most prominent of which is carbon dioxide.
When greenhouse gases build up in earth’s atmosphere, they trap in the sun’s heat.
Over time, this trapped heat has led to an increase in the average global temperature. The more greenhouse gases we have in our atmosphere, the warmer our planet gets.
As indicated in the graphs to the right from the National Climate Assessment, the increase in carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere and the increase in global average temperature are directly correlated.
According to NASA data, 2016 was the warmest year since 1880, continuing a long-term trend of rising global temperatures. The 10 warmest years in the 140-year record all have occurred since 2005, with the six warmest years being the six most recent years (2014-2019).
Some places on the planet have higher increases in heat than others, such as the North and South Poles.
As the poles get warmer, large amounts of ice melts into the oceans.
These global changes in temperature and sea levels lead to a multitude of health effects.

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Health care contributes to climate change

Energy use for heating, cooling, lighting, & water use

Employee commutes

Meat procurement & food transport

Waste �anesthetic �gases

Supplies & materials

Fleet vehicles

Waste hauling, treatment, & landfill gases

8.5% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions

Not only do health professionals need to know about the health impacts of climate change in general, but they need to be aware of how the health care sector is contributing to - and impacted by - greenhouse gas emissions.

The health care industry contributes 8.5% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (Eckelman & Sherman, 2016).
Typical areas of largest impact are highlighted in the gray clouds (Health Care Without Harm).

Hospitals are the second most energy intensive facilities in the country and use 2.5 times more energy per square foot than other commercial buildings.
Hospitals are ranked as the third most water-intensive public buildings (after senior care facilities and hotels), using an average of 570 gallons per staffed bed per day. Water is also a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions because of the energy needed to distribute it, treat it and heat it.
Hospitals serve a lot of food to their staff, patients and visitors. Since an estimated 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the livestock sector hospitals can make a big difference by serving less meat.
US hospitals generate 29 pounds of waste per patient day in the hospital. But the manufacturing process and transportation of the products purchased by U.S. hospitals also creates 32 pounds of waste for every pound of product manufactured.

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This image is from the Centers for Disease Control.
Many state, national, and global health agencies have highlighted the health impacts of climate change, such as The Lancet, the American Public Health Association, and the World Health Organization. In fact, The Lancet Commission identified climate change as the planet’s No. 1 public health threat of the 21st century.
The center ring shows the cycle of increasing carbon dioxide, which leads to rising temperatures, more extreme weather, and rising sea levels.
The next ring highlights eight primary global effects that occur due to warmer temperatures, extremes in weather, and higher sea levels, such as extreme heat, air pollution, increasing allergens, and impacts on water and food supply, among others.
Take a moment to read some of the specific health threats humans are now faced with due to climate change around the outer edge of the diagram.
We all care for people who are already experiencing these health impacts. As you can imagine, some people are more at risk than others, such as:

Underrepresented and/or marginalized races and ethnicities
Infants and young children
The elderly
People living in poverty or those who are homeless
People with chronic physical or mental conditions
Outdoor workers/players

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Health impacts of climate change vary by region. Sharing specific stories or examples of how our health is harmed by climate change makes the issue more “real” for many people. See this image and the links below for further information about specific impacts in your area:

Climate Central “States of Change:” Stories of climate change from close to home - https://www.climatecentral.org/states-of-change
US EPA “Climate Change Impacts by State” factsheets (as of January 2017; EPA has not updated since) - https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/climate-impacts/climate-change-impacts-state_.html
2018 National Climate Assessment: Exploration of regional impacts - https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. (NRDC) “Health Risks and Climate Change:” State-specific fact sheets for CALIFORNIA, COLORADO, ILLINOIS, MICHIGAN, PENNSYLVANIA, VIRGINA, AND WASHINGTON - https://www.nrdc.org/resources/health-risks-and-climate-change

(Image source: The Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health - https://medsocietiesforclimatehealth.org/reports/medical-alert/)

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Climate change disproportionately affects vulnerable populations

2018 National Climate Assessment

This image is from the 2018 National Climate Assessment: https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/14/

For additional information, visit the following resources for climate and racial justice:

Furthermore, visit these platforms proposing actions and policies:

Frontlines Climate Justice Executive Action Platform: https://www.demos.org/policy-briefs/frontlines-climate-justice-executive-action-platform
Indigenous Principles of Just Transition: https://climateadvocacylab.org/system/files/PrinciplesJustTransition-Color.pdf
Vision for Equitable Climate Action: https://equitableclimateaction.org/
National Black Environmental Justice Alliance: https://www.nbejn.com/news/the-national-black-environmental-justice-network-relaunches-to-address-growing-threats-to-black-communities
Climate Justice Alliance: https://climatejusticealliance.org/

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Health professionals’ role in climate change

Health professionals are trusted.
Many health professions are led by codes of ethics that incorporate care of our environment.
We care for patients across the lifespan in all settings.
We need to:

UNDERSTAND how climate change affects human health.
WORK to decrease health care’s impact on the environment.
PREPARE patients who are at risk.

Gallup polling finds health professionals to be among the most trusted professionals year after year. Part of what contributes to our trust is our role in communicating about important health issues.

If you are presenting to an audience of specifically nurses, emphasize that nurses are the most trusted voice (Gallup, 2020).

Many health professions are led by codes of ethics that incorporate care of our environment.

Nurses: Standard 17 of the American Nurses Association (2018) Standards of Professional Nursing Practice requires that we are stewards of our environment.
Physicians: The Hippocratic Oath, historically taken by physicians, includes the sentiment of “do no harm” (Wikipedia, 2020).
If your audience includes other health professionals, invite them to share ethical oaths that apply to the environment.

Because climate change has such vast impacts on our environment and human health, health professionals must learn about how to prepare themselves to work with patients affected by climate change, as well as to decrease health care’s impact on greenhouse gas emissions (which contribute to climate change).

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Join (or start!) a green team for large-scale planning efforts

Carpool, bike, walk, or take public transport

Choose local, sustainable foods & reduce food waste

Reduce OR energy use & waste

Include climate risks in emergency preparedness plans

Educate patients & colleagues

Reduce, reuse, recycle

Educate your community

Plant Trees

There are many, many ways health professionals can reduce their impact on the climate at work and at home. These are just a few examples.
Ideas for climate action are highlighted in the green clouds.
The less fossil fuel energy we use, the better. Ultimately, it comes down to using less energy (electricity, heat, cooling, gasoline) and fewer material goods.
Most importantly, find others who are doing this work. We can all do more when we work together.
If your facility is a Practice Greenhealth member, include that information here.

For examples, see short list below. For more ideas on how to reduce your impact at your health care setting and at home, check out the Nurses Climate Challenge Guide for Taking Action (linked on website under “Take the Challenge”).

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (Waste): Only bring supplies into patients rooms that are needed, Initiate recycling program, initiate composting program, decrease water use, go paperless, choose reusable supplies, decrease washing of extra linens
Reduce Operating Room Energy use and waste: HVAC setbacks and lighting sensors, reprocessed devices, hard cases for sterilization, recycle blue wrap
Choose local/sustainable foods and reduce food waste: Procure local foods, reduce portion size of meat served, replace beef with other proteins, switch to room service, food donation programs

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Are you called to take action?

Questions? Comments? Talk with your Nurse Climate Champion about how to engage more.

Brought to you by Health Care Without Harm | noharm.org

& Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments | envirn.org

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Resources