Sufficiency and healthcare emissions

Area of Science:

• Environmental science
• Public health
• Ethics

Background:

• Healthcare systems are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.
• Transitioning to sustainable practices is crucial for environmental and public health.
• Existing frameworks for emissions reduction in healthcare face challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine appropriate emissions targets for healthcare systems.
• To establish fair methods for sharing the burdens of emissions mitigation.
• To explore the ethical underpinnings of healthcare's environmental responsibilities.

Main Methods:

• Philosophical analysis of ethical theories, specifically sufficientarianism.
• Development of a framework for setting healthcare emissions thresholds based on sufficiency.
• Comparative analysis of different emissions target-setting approaches.

Main Results:

• Sufficientarianism offers a balanced approach to setting emissions targets and distributing mitigation burdens.
• An 'emissions threshold' can be derived from the principle of 'enough health'.
• Permissible emissions, essential for sufficiency, should inform mitigation responsibilities.

Conclusions:

• Sufficientarianism provides a robust ethical foundation for healthcare's climate action.
• Healthcare systems can ethically set emissions targets and allocate mitigation responsibilities.
• This approach addresses limitations of alternative methods like net zero or emissions egalitarianism.