A Health Care System’s Path to Carbon Neutrality: Addressing Climate Change and Role of Healthcare

Anthropogenic climate change, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), results in approximately 150,000 deaths annually through mechanisms like heat-related mortality, altered food production, and the spread of infectious diseases. With climate change predicted to cause over half a million climate-related deaths by 2050, healthcare systems, which contribute significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, must adopt roles in environmental stewardship. This manuscript details how Kaiser Permanente (KP), a major non-profit healthcare system, became the first carbon-neutral health system in the country.