Climate Change and Health: The Opportunity for Oral Health Professionals to Be Champions of Sustainability

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies climate change as one of the greatest health threats for humanity, with an estimated one in four deaths resulting from “extreme weather events heatwaves, storms and floods.” Severe acclimate weather creates “disruption in food systems, increases zoonoses and food-, water- and vector-borne diseases, and imposes challenges upon one’s own mental health.” As humans release more fossil fuels into earth’s atmosphere, it increases our planet’s temperature, including the frequency and severity of hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, and air pollution. This severe weather will harm “equal access to health care” and further impose “climate-sensitive” health risks on vulnerable populations, including “women, children, ethnic minorities, immigrants, low-income households, uninsured persons, diasporas, the elderly, and individuals with underlying health conditions.”Description The health care sector contributes approximately 8.5% of total U.S.-based greenhouse gas and is responsible for more than 4% of total global carbon emissions. If the health care sector were a country, it would be the world’s fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Emissions from health care facility operations, purchased energy, and the health care supply chain of goods and services are the biggest drivers of carbon emissions. Although each individual health care practice is only a tiny percentage of the sector’s emissions, there remain meaningful ways these facilities can contribute to collective efforts to reduce the industry’s impact on climate change by adopting more sustainable practices. This article provides health care professionals with recommendations that will enable them to serve as powerful advocates and change agents for environmental sustainability.