Dr Kate Charlesworth is a public health physician in Sydney and leads the Climate Risk & Net Zero Unit at NSW Health. Kate initially worked as a hospital doctor in Perth and Sydney, before undertaking much of her public health medicine training in the UK. In England, she worked in the world-leading Greener NHS program, the leading healthcare decarbonisation program in the world. Kate has worked in sustainability roles across NSW Health since 2018 and also has a PhD in low-carbon healthcare. 







Presentation Synopsis
HM7: Healthcare’s Carbon Addiction: It’s Time to Quit
If health systems, globally, were a country, they would be the fifth largest polluter on the planet. Ironically, then, health systems are substantial contributors to the climate crisis which is harming human health, both directly (extreme weather events) and indirectly (shifts in infectious diseases, food and water insecurity, mental health impacts etc). Health organisations therefore have a particular responsibility, and also opportunity, to address climate risks. This presentation will set out: 1) why climate change is a health issue 2) our twin responsibilities to decarbonize and adapt 3) how NSW Health – Australia’s largest health system – is addressing climate risk, drawing on international best practice.