Author:
Weisheit Christina K.,Geerling Gerd,Holz Frank G.,Coburn Mark
Abstract
Germany’s health care footprint accounts for 5.2% of the national emissions footprint which results in 0.71 tons of CO<sub>2</sub> emission per capita. Thus, the health sector has a responsibility to take climate action. Surgery is a resource-intensive health care activity, requiring expensive equipment, sterilization procedures, advanced operative technologies, and obligatory life support systems. We spotlight the situation in a department of ophthalmology with frequent anesthesia services and highly standardized procedures. This narrative review discusses high-impact actions which result in a major reduction of the CO<sub>2</sub> footprint according to the global road map for health care decarbonization, considering both the ophthalmic and anesthesiologic point of view.
Subject
Sensory Systems,Ophthalmology,General Medicine