6.3 Knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of health professionals

Many health workers have become highly aware of climate-sensitive health outcomes and have tried to deliver responsive services (Yang et al., 2018). However, a shortage of knowledge about climate change can jeopardise their capacity to address the underlying causes of climate-sensitive illness conditions (Sorensen et al., 2023).

While health professionals are struggling to adapt their services in response to climate change, their awareness of the health sector’s contribution to climate change is often low (Yang et al., 2018). The Health-Promoting Hospitals initiative has attempted to incorporate climate change actions into its standards (International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services, 2020). Standard 3 ‘Environmental Health’ requires:

• Reduced use of fossil energy through renewable energy
• Reduced water consumption through conservation, recycling and treatment measures
• Reduced climate footprint and pollution through transportation and service delivery strategies
• Reduced environmental footprint through fostering healthy eating habits and local, sustainable sourcing
• Green buildings in the design, construction and renovation of facilities

These environmental measures all have the potential to reduce costs and contribute to the value of healthcare. However, the implementation of these actions depends on strong political and leadership commitment. The health sector needs to participate in the ‘responsible investment’ movement driven by the United Nations (UNEPFI, 2022), which extends beyond environmental actions, necessitating changes across the entire healthcare industry.