£2.4m pledge to tackle NHS carbon emissions

THE Welsh Government is pledging £2.4m in a bid to tackle the one million tonnes of carbon emissions produced by the NHS every year.

Project ideas from health boards and NHS organisations across Wales will be granted a share of the fund in a hope to reduce CO2 emissions by more than a third by 2030. NHS Wales is currently the largest public sector carbon emitter in Wales meaning the government will need to slash this if Wales is to reach its target of Net Zero by 2050.

NHS Wales chief executive Judith Paget said: “As the largest public sector emitter of CO2, the NHS in Wales needs to play its part to protect the health and wellbeing of future generations. We can all help with this effort by returning unused medication to their pharmacy, asking for a more sustainable inhaler or using active or public transport to attend appointments.

“We are also encouraging applications from NHS organisations for up to £60k in the first year for small to medium sized initiatives to reduce carbon emissions or help the sector adapt to the impacts of climate change.”

Last year, the Welsh Government published its NHS Wales Decarbonisation Strategic Delivery Plan which included 46 initiatives to help meet the 2030 and 2050 targets.

Electrifying fleet vehicles, using low carbon lighting in all buildings and reducing the use of harmful gases were all part of the strategy. Swapping out regular inhalers for low-carbon alternatives was another part of the plan, with NHS Wales hoping to cut the use of high global warming potential (GWP) inhalers to 20% by 2025.

Now, eligible projects will be able to apply for a share of the Welsh Government’s £2.4m fund if they show that they can help deliver Wales’ Net Zero target.

“This funding from the Welsh Government will be well-received, as it should increase health workers’ capacity for action and hopefully accelerate our transition to more environmentally sustainable and resilient healthcare,” said Dr Thomas Downs, founder of Ysbyty Gwynedd Green Group.

As both a junior doctor and a member of Green Health Wales, Dr Downs explained that, to date, most of the work to make healthcare more sustainable has been done on a voluntary basis within hospitals and across specialty green networks.

He added: “As health workers, we recognise our health and wellbeing, and our ability to provide sustainable healthcare depends on a healthy climate and nature. So, professionally our duty to ‘do no harm’ extends to our shared environment, on which our patients’ health and well-being depends.”