The good news is that everything we do to build resilience for the climate crisis will improve health- from encouraging active travel and reducing car use, actions to improve air quality, embracing a plant based diet and deprescribing.

The recent heatwave has brought the climate crisis into the media attention… at last! However, we have heard less about the impact on health. The climate crisis is a health emergency. We will see increasing health effects from flooding and heatwaves, and patients with chronic disease and ill health will be worst affected. In addition, our buildings and homes will be at risk from fire and floods.

How knowledgeable are you about sustainable health and planetary health? The NHS has committed to Net Zero by 2040, the RCGP and BMA have declared a climate emergency and planetary health is now part of the RCGP curriculum.

The good news is that everything we do to build resilience for the climate crisis will improve health- from encouraging active travel and reducing car use, actions to improve air quality, embracing a plant based diet and deprescribing. The IIF targets have gone a long way in reducing our use of MDI (they contain greenhouse gases – one salbutamol mdi is equivalent to 180 miles by car as opposed to 4 miles for a DPI).

There are also benefits for GP wellbeing in terms of encouraging cycling to work, spending time in nature and our green/blue spaces and feeling part of the community.

So when planning the PDP make it a greener SMART one … and add a climate friendly target.

LIST OF RESOURCES

New Environmentally Sustainable Healthcare elearning is available: elearning for healthcare (e-lfh.org.uk)

SEE Sustainability, Resources for primary healthcare: seesustainability.co.uk/blog/f/useful-sustainability-resources-for-primary-healthcare

•Carbon Literacy Project: carbonliteracy.com

•Centre for Sustainable Healthcare: sustainablehealthcare.org.uk/courses

•Doctors for Extinction Rebellion: doctorsforxr.com

•Green action plans: sap.sustainablehealthcare.org.uk

•Greener NHS: www.england.nhs.uk/greenernhs/

•Greener Practice: greenerpractice.co.uk

•Health Care Without Harm, Global road map for health care decarbonization: healthcareclimateaction.org/roadmap

•Health Declares: healthdeclares.org/

•The Lancet, The public health implications of the Paris Agreement: a modelling study: thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(20)30249-7/fulltext

•UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, Carbon Literacy guide: ukhealthalliance.org/carbon-literacy-guide

•Green Impact for Health: www.greenimpact.org.uk/GIforHealth

•Clean Air Framework: www.globalactionplan.org.uk/business-clean-air-taskforce/business-for-clean-air