Letters | Hong Kong hospitals could do with a green health check
- Readers discuss the healthcare industry’s contribution to climate change, the benefit of educating people on recycling, and the environmental perils of deep-sea mining
Thus, decarbonising the city’s healthcare system is of paramount importance, not only to align with the government’s sustainability goals, but also to safeguard public health and well-being.
The healthcare sector is uniquely positioned to set an example of sustainable operation, because of its responsibility for preserving human health – an aspect fundamentally threatened by global warming. Creating low-carbon healthcare facilities does not have to be expensive. Modest adjustments to resource consumption habits, such as switching off idle equipment and replacing paper documents with electronic versions, cost very little.
Retrofitting existing infrastructure with windows that let in natural light, green roofs, and energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, as well as incorporating solar panels and other renewable energy sources, is also a cost-effective practice that can mitigate a hospital’s carbon footprint. In the long run, such initiatives will yield considerable savings on electricity bills.
Hong Kong has been experiencing hotter summers and more severe typhoons. Coupled with the city’s ageing population, climate-related health issues will exacerbate the current inadequacies in our healthcare system – a system which also happens to be a significant contributor to the problem of climate change. While Hong Kong undertakes climate resilience measures across other aspects of urban living, there is plenty of room for improvement in terms of decarbonisation of the healthcare system.