Trust me, I’m a dolphin: Climate literacy and the voice of healthcare

Healthcare professionals are trusted voices in society but using that influence effectively requires an understanding of the environmental changes increasingly affecting health. This presentation connects climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution with human health, healthcare delivery and the wider systems on which we depend. From oceans and shipping to plastics, medicines and waste, it explores why healthcare matters far beyond its own carbon footprint—and how informed healthcare professionals can use everyday decisions, education and conversations to inspire positive change.

3 things attendees will learn that they can take away and use in their consultation room:

• Recognise opportunities to discuss how actions that benefit the environment can also benefit patients—for example prevention, healthier lifestyles and avoiding healthcare that provides little benefit. The presentation explicitly links sustainability with improving health, clinical decision-making and reducing unnecessary healthcare.
• Apply a sustainability lens to everyday clinical decisions: consider whether investigations, treatments, medicines and consumables are genuinely needed and recognise that avoiding unnecessary care can reduce both patient burden and environmental harm. The presentation’s central principle is that healthcare is essential but not environmentally benign.
• Become more confident talking with patients and colleagues about the links between health, climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. The presentation argues that healthcare’s influence extends well beyond its own emissions and that educated healthcare professionals can use their trusted position to inspire wider action.