Action Alert: Ask the American Hospital Association and Its Member Systems to Sign the HHS Health Sector Climate Pledge
Climate change, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, poses a dangerous threat to human health, both from air and water pollution and from increasingly severe weather events, including heat waves, wildfires, and floods. The health sector is responsible for an estimated 8.5% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and accounts for 25% of total global health sector emissions. Hospitals can commit to reducing their emissions and improving climate resilience in the face of these worsening threats. The HHS Health Sector Climate Pledge is a voluntary commitment organizations can sign to commit to:
- Cutting their greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030,
- Achieving net zero emissions by 2050, and
- Developing climate resilience plans to ensure continuous operations in the face of more frequent and intense extreme weather and wildfire events.
The Climate and Health State Network of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health is seeking sign-ons to a letter to the American Hospital Association (AHA) asking it to commit to the HHS climate pledge and to encourage its member systems to do the same. Asking AHA to take the pledge can help ensure climate-smart healthcare is mission-central for our health systems by encouraging more health systems to join. The deadline to sign on is September 15th.
Please consider sending this letter to your hospital if they have already signed the HHS pledge, asking them to sign on as well. The more sign-ons from health organizations, hospitals, and health systems, the more powerful the letter will be.