Introduction to Global Heating and Ways to Benefit the Environment

Climate change is a global emergency. Greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere result in heat trapping, or otherwise referred to as global warming. Global warming is likely to have profound effects on environmental factors as well as human health.¹

The UK has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement (which set the goal to limit global warming to 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels).² The NHS currently accounts of 4-5% of the total carbon emissions in England,³ and therefore there is a need to address its contribution to the UK greenhouse gas emission. In response, the NHS has set up a Long-Term Plan to become net zero by 2040, ahead of the Paris Agreement 2050 target.⁴

During the webinar, Dr Matt Sawyer provides background to the greenhouse gas effect, key contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and the impact of Fluorinated gases (F-gases) and pressurised metered dose inhalers (pMDIs) within these emissions. He goes onto map out ways primary care can tackle both the clinical and non-clinical greenhouse gas contributions from the sector, with the aim of achieving a net zero NHS by 2040.

References

1. World Health Organisation. Climate change and health. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health
2. The Climate Change Act 2008 (2050 Target Amendment) Order 2009. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2019/1056/article/2/made
3. NHS England. Greener NHS campaign to tackle climate ‘health emergency’. January 2020. Available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/2020/01/greener-nhs-campaign-to-tackle-climate-health-emergency/
4. Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service. October 2020. Available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/greenernhs/a-net-zero-nhs/

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• Dr Matt Sawyer

  General Practitioner

  Read biography
  Dr Matt Sawyer

  General Practitioner North East of England

  Role and Location 

  Dr Matthew Sawyer has been a GP in the North East of England for over 15 years. He currently combines working as a front line GP with running his sustainability consultancy working to improve planetary health and human health. He covers environmental sustainability issues facing all businesses but specialises in primary care. He helps clinicians and practices understand their carbon emissions footprint from running their practice and helps produce a practice wide ‘green plan’ or roadmap to work towards net zero emissions. He has presented on a wide variety of topics including greener respiratory care, why primary care should have green plans, keynote speaker for NHS Net Zero Estates, Chair for the Intensive Care Society presentation and panel discussion on Personal Carbon Emissions among others. He has produced a GP carbon calculator for non-clinical emissions which is free to use.

  Education

  Dr Sawyer graduated from the Universities of Southampton in 1997, he then completed his GP training in 2006. He has worked in several GP practices across the North East of England over the last 15 years. Dr Sawyer has a BSc in Environmental Science and MSc in Corporate Sustainability and Environmental Management from York University.

  Memberships

  He is the Director of SEE Sustainability (a sustainability consultancy helping SMEs improve their triple bottom line – providing information and practical knowledge to overcome barriers to sustainability) and a Trainer at Speak Carbon.

  Other

  He delivers carbon literacy training for primary and secondary care, has worked on the RCGP Climate Emergency group and is a volunteer running the carbon footprint numbers behind the Climate App.