The climate crisis is a health crisis. The World Health Organization estimates that between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress alone. According to over 200 Medical Journals, the global environmental crisis is the most significant threat to human health in the 21st century. Since 2019, over 75 countries have committed to develop climate-resilient health systems and embrace sustainable low-carbon health care. 

This Commitment was designed to respond to the impacts of climate change, which are amplifying global health inequities, hindering vital progress towards high quality and safe care, and ultimately threatening the foundation of human health. While the window to act is rapidly closing, there remains time for concerted and equity-driven action at the local, national, and global level.

Our Mission

It is within Health Standards Organization (HSO)’s, and our affiliate partner Accreditation Canada (AC)’s, mission to harness credible, scientific evidence to assess organizational capability and enable planning and action to drive progress towards decarbonization, climate resiliency, and sustainable health care systems. To do this, HSO and AC have three levers to create change. These include the co-design of standards, assessment programs, and building capacity across health and social care services. These levers are used in settings like hospitals, laboratories, residential, and community care, as well as education programs that train the health care workforce. These levers are essential to enhance the analysis, learning, and accountability needed to improve the quality of care.

How

We hear the call for a people-centred transformation that puts health at the heart of climate action. These actions have been prioritized with climate action leaders as having the ability to make a meaningful difference.

1. Establish an advisory committee of climate action and planetary health leaders to receive focused input on mobilizing HSO’s levers of change to enable climate adaptation and mitigation strategies.
2. Advance HSO’s effort to reduce our carbon footprint and the use of environmentally harmful products and practices
3. Continue developing and embedding more explicit requirements within core and future HSO standards to address the growing impacts of climate change on human and planetary health.
4. Introduce a new Climate Action Certificate to provide a framework for health and social service organizations to expand or continue their decarbonization and health system resiliency efforts.
5. Update our assessment instruments and data and analytics tools for health systems to identify environmental risks and enable climate action and resiliency.
6. Recruit technical committee members, surveyors, and patient surveyors with specialized knowledge and skills in climate action.
7. Work with credible climate action partners to develop implementation tools and resources to equip organizations with effective strategies to address climate risks.
8. Advocate for and integrate climate action into entry-to-practice health professional education.
9. Partner with climate action researchers to respond to proposals that address persistent research gaps, including links to mental health, and the unequal impact of climate change.

The rising risks of climate change are amplifying global health inequities and threatening the foundation of human health. While the window to act is rapidly closing, there remains time for concerted and equity-driven action at the local, national, and global level. We recognize our role for supporting bolder collective action to enable resilient and sustainable health systems at the scale and speed required to address the increasing impact of a changing climate. We are committed to working with partners around the globe to leave our planet stronger and healthier for generations to come.

Leslee J. Thompson
CEO, HSO and Accreditation Canada

References

• Atwoli, L., et al. (2021). Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increases, restore biodiversity, and protect health. The New England Journal of Medicine. 385(12). https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMe2113200
• Romanello, M., et al. (2023). The 2023 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: the imperative for a health-centred response in a world facing irreversible harms. The Lancet. 402(10419), 2346–2394. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01859-7
• Romanello, M., et al. (2024). The 2024 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: facing record-breaking threats from delayed action. The Lancet. 404(10465), 1847-1896. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01822-1/abstract
• United Nations Secretary General. (2024). Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report (2024). https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/files/report/2024/SG-SDG-Progress-Report-2024-advanced-unedited-version.pdf
• World Health Organization. (n.d.). Climate change. https://www.who.int/health-topics/climate-change#tab=tab_1
• World Health Organization. (2024). COP29 Special Report on Climate Change and Health: Health is the Argument for Climate Action. https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/environment-climate-change-and-health/58595-who-cop29-special-report_layout_9web.pdf?sfvrsn=dd2b816_8