by Gary Cohen, Consortium Advisory Board member
Published in Medium, September 24, 2021
While COVID-19 has pushed the health care sector to its limits, another public health emergency is strengthening. This time, the health sector itself is part of the problem. But now, with help from a new White House initiative, the sector can be part of the solution.
The other health emergency, of course, is the climate crisis. The latest U.N. report affirms that fossil fuel combustion is heating up the planet, causing deadly heat waves, floods, wildfires, and disease outbreaks.
The primary cause of climate change — air pollution from burning fossil fuels — is among the leading causes of illness and premature death. A Harvard School of Public Health report found that 8 million people worldwide died prematurely from fossil fuel pollution in 2018 — far more than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.