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CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION


change means warmer winters that increase the incidence of vector-borne diseases spread by mites. Winters will be darker, which may cause mental stress and depression. Buildings must tolerate increasing humidity, storms and heatwaves, and snow and rainwater must be controlled in order to prevent flooding or any other disturbance in hospital functions and traffic. It should not be difficult to take into account climate change adaptation through regulation of hospital planning and construction.


Measures that should be taken Despite ambitious climate goals set by Finnish government, there is no national roadmap for decarbonisation in Finnish healthcare. A global organisation, Health Care Without Harm, has recently published a roadmap for health care decarbonisation in global perspective and in the perspective of 68 different countries, including Finland.9 The roadmap’s propositions are well


argued and should be considered also at local and national level in each country. Although the data for carbon footprint calculations are from 2014 and much work has been done since, it seems that plenty of work is still ahead, especially concerning the materials used in health care. According to another calculation


by the British National Health Service, 62 per cent of healthcare’s greenhouse gas emissions come from medicines, equipment and other procured materials for care, while only ten per cent comes from energy usage from buildings and a further ten per cent from transport (patients and personnel).10


Natural light inside the hospital.


change mitigation in Finnish society. The government’s commitments, the growing interest and sense of urgency among people and all technical solutions available and in R&D processes support the Finnish healthcare system in finding a path for carbon neutrality. However, it is too early to say when.


Acknowledgement


I would like to thank Juha Rantasalo MSc, technical director of Hospital District of Southwestern Finland for his valuable comments in preparing this article.


That means the


road to net carbon should be focused on material usage and material production. Nordic healthcare systems share a


common source of information about sustainable practices in healthcare. Nordic Center for Sustainable Healthcare has proven to be a valuable forum for sharing information and great examples of sustainable solutions in healthcare facilities.11


Sharing the same Nordic climate, we can also learn from each other in hospital construction, technology and maintenance. At present, several Finnish hospital districts are aiming for better co-operation to share best practices in sustainable procurement, construction, energy solutions and waste management and initiate research activities with local universities. Funding healthcare’s green transition should come from the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.


Conclusion Generally speaking, healthcare sustainability has not been a high priority in Finland yet we can identify several actions that could support climate


24


References 1 Finland Ministry of the Environment. Finland's national climate change policy [https://ym.fi/en/finland-s-national-climate- change-policy].


2 Finland Ministry of Finance. Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland – boosting reforms and investments, 2021 [https://vm.fi/en/sustainable-growth- programme-for-finland].


IFHE


3 Finland Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. Summary of sector-specific low-carbon roadmaps, 2021 [https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/ handle/10024/162851/TEM_2021_9.pdf],


4 Finnish Medical Association et al. Medical associations declare a climate emergency, 2021 [https://lsv.fi/parasol/wp-content/ uploads/2021/01/Climate-Emergency_ 070121.pdf].


5 Finland Ministry of the Environment. Wood Building Programme [https://ym.fi/en/wood-building].


6 Carbon Brief. Q&A: Why cement emissions matter for climate change, 2018 [https://carbonbrief.org/qa-why-cement- emissions-matter-for-climate-change].


7 HUS. Environmental responsibility [https://www.hus.fi/en/about-us/strategy- and-responsibility/corporate-responsibility/ environmental-responsibility].


8 Finland Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Healthcare and social welfare must systematically prepare for climate change, 2021 [https://stm.fi/en/-/healthcare-and- social-welfare-must-systematically-prepare- for-climate-change].


9 Health Care Without Harm. Global Road Map for Health Care Decarbonization, 2021 [https://healthcareclimateaction.org/ roadmap].


10 NHS England. Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service, 2020 [https://www.england.nhs.uk/greenernhs/ wp-content/uploads/sites/51/2020/10/ delivering-a-net-zero-national-health- service.pdf].


Panel and shelves for patient monitors.


11 Nordic Center for Sustainable Healthcare [https://nordicshc.org].


IFHE DIGEST 2022


©Mikael Soininen


©Mikael Soininen


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