How we got to here

This chapter sets the scene for our work in this Handbook. Certain preconditions must be met, if we take a deep historical perspective, to establish the problems healthcare faces in the era of human-induced climate change. They include, from first principles, that we need a universe which houses our solar system; for life on earth to have begun in the first place; and for us, to emerge and then dominate the planet. As economic development occurred from the industrial revolution onwards, the burning of fossil fuels is the key contributor to the current climate crisis. Healthcare’s special place in this existentially challenging era is that it is simultaneously a major emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and the sector responsible for dealing with patients affected by climate change. At this point healthcare’s GHG emissions and the number of climate-induced patients are accelerating, leading to substantially increased problems to be managed. In effect, this creates a vicious cycle-an ever-increasing number of climate-induced patients requires more care from healthcare systems which then produce more GHG emissions whilst providing that care. In this book we explore the scope of the issues this problem throws up, and potential solutions to disrupt this vicious cycle.