Join us for a conversation about reducing emissions in the health sector and how those efforts can inform climate action in other sectors.
A recording of the webinar is available to view below.
Climate change exacerbates and creates new risks for human health through threats such as extreme heat and vector-borne diseases. As part of its charge to protect human health and well-being, the health sector is beginning to tackle the challenge of decreasing its greenhouse gas emissions. Victor Dzau (President of the National Academy of Medicine) moderated a conversation with Gary Cohen (Health Care Without Harm) and Jodi Sherman (Yale University) about the challenges of decarbonizing the health sector, how those efforts fit into broader efforts to address climate change, and lessons that can be shared with other sectors.
Climate Conversations: Pathways to Action is a monthly webinar series from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that aims to convene high-level, cross-cutting, nonpartisan conversations about issues relevant to national policy action on climate change.
Participant Bios
Gary Cohen is the co-founder and president of Health Care Without Harm, created to transform the health care sector to be environmentally sustainable and support the health and climate resilience of communities. He has helped build coalitions and networks globally to address health impacts related to climate change and toxic chemical exposure. A pioneer in the environmental health movement, he was awarded the Champion of Change Award for Climate Change and Public Health by the White House in 2013 and received a MacArthur Fellowship and “Genius Grant” in 2015.
Jodi Sherman is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at Yale School of Medicine and Associate Professor of Epidemiology in Environmental Health Sciences at the Yale School of Public Health, where she is the founding director of the Program on Healthcare Environmental Sustainability. She also serves as the Medical Director of Sustainability for Yale New Haven Health. As an internationally recognized researcher in the emerging field of sustainability in healthcare, her research in life cycle environmental emissions assessment seeks to establish sustainability metrics to guide clinical decision-making, health care administration, and public policy.
Victor J. Dzau, M.D., is the President of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and Vice Chair of the National Research Council. Dr. Dzau is Chancellor Emeritus and James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Duke University and the past President and CEO of the Duke University Health System. At the NAM, he launched the Grand Challenge in Human Health and Climate Change to reverse the negative effects of climate change on health and social equity by activating the entire biomedical community, communicating and educating the public about climate change and health, driving changes through research, innovation and policy, and leading bold action to decarbonize the health care sector.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the conversation are those of the participants and do not necessarily represent the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
