US | Kaiser Permanente Pledges to Go Carbon Positive by 2025

Global | Health Care Without Harm Joins Global Call for G7 to Phase Out Coal

Health Care Without Harm, along with members and partners through the Healthy Energy Initiative and Health Care Climate Council, are among the 82 health organizations from 30 countries calling on G7 nations to accelerate the transition away from coal to save lives. Given the health benefits and health cost savings that can be achieved by prioritizing renewable energy and energy efficiency, G7 nations have an attractive opportunity to demonstrate leadership by committing to a rapid phase-out of coal in favor of healthy energy options. Read more.

Brazil | New GHG Inventory Guide Supports Expansion of 2020 Health Care Climate Challenge

Projeto Hospitais Saudáveis, Health Care Without Harm partner in Brazil, has launched a new Guide for Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Health Organizations to assist the health sector in understanding, tracking, and addressing emissions from their facilities. The release of the guide represents an important step for the health sector in Brazil to develop a low carbon path for the future. Read more.

Global | WHO Reports Worsening Air Pollution in World’s Poorest Cities

The latest air pollution database released by the World Health Organization revealed that more than 80% of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to pollution levels that exceed WHO limits, and that global urban air pollution levels have increased by 8% despite improvements in some regions. Ambient air pollution is the greatest environmental risk to health, causing more than 3 million premature deaths worldwide each year. Read more.

Philippines | Strong Institutions, Policies, Professionals Needed to Mainstream Health Impact Assessments

On March 9, 2016, as part of the workshop organized by Health Care Without Harm-Asia entitled “Towards Healthy Energy Choices in the Philippines: Promoting the Use of Health Impact Assessments (HIA) for Energy Policies and Projects,” representatives from various stakeholder organizations engaged in a dynamic discussion about the future of HIA in the Philippines. Read more.

Healthy Energy News Roundup

• Asia | Plans for coal-fired power in Asia are 'disaster for planet' warns World Bank (via The Guardian)
• Global | Fact Sheet: How Oil and Gas Operations Impact Your Baby’s Health (via Moms Clean Air Force)
• Global | The planet's health is essential to prevent infectious disease (via The Guardian)
• China | Polluted air may up risk of many cancers (via Reuters Health)
• Global | A socio-ecological analysis of hospital resilience to extreme weather events (via Construction Management and Economics)
• India | Air pollution in India is so bad that it kills half a million people every year (via Washington Post)
• Japan | Japan's coal-fired plants 'to cause thousands of early deaths' (via The Guardian)
• South Africa | 84% of public health studies find hazards in fracking: research (via Times Live)
• US | After months of pressure, the Gates Foundation recently sold $178 million of BP stock (via Investor Ideas)
• US | The Case for Climate Action: The EPA says taking on global warming will improve public health (via US News & World Report)
• US | US Crosses Major Milestone in Coal Retirements, Cements Global Leadership in Cutting Carbon Pollution (via Sierra Club)

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