Climate resilient and environmentally sustainable radiology: a framework for implementation.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Radiology
• Climate Change Adaptation

Background:

• Climate change poses significant risks to human health.
• Current radiology practices contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
• There is a need for sustainable and climate-resilient healthcare systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the impact of climate change on human health and radiology.
• To discuss mitigation, adaptation, and response strategies for radiology.
• To propose a framework and checklist for building climate resilience in radiology.

Main Methods:

• Literature review on climate change, health, and radiology.
• Development of a 5-pillar framework for climate resilience capacity.
• Identification of key actions for sustainable radiology practices.

Main Results:

• Established links between climate change, health, and radiology.
• Proposed a resilience framework encompassing threshold, coping, recovery, adaptive, and transformative capacities.
• Identified key actions: awareness, infrastructure optimization, supply chain management, energy reduction, and stakeholder collaboration.

Conclusions:

• Radiology systems require transformation for environmental sustainability and climate resilience.
• Implementing the proposed strategies will reduce environmental impact and prepare departments for climate-related events.
• Building resilience in radiology enhances planetary health and human well-being.