The time for action is now

With the current global climate emergency, the 2023 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report has made it clear that immediate action is required. Global temperature increases pose a significant risk to health on a population level, and it is imperative that healthcare professionals advocate for climate action. In order to address this crisis, multiple strategies need to be implemented in order to reach a target of net zero health care emissions.

The Environmental Action by Residents and Trainees for Health (EARTH) Healthcare Sustainability Quality Improvement (QI) program aims to advance environmental sustainability and planetary health within undergraduate and postgraduate medical education and the broader Canadian healthcare system.

It represents the integration of the Project Green Healthcare/Projet Vert la Santé (PGH/PVLS), an initiative of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students Health and Environment Adaptive Response Taskforce (CFMS HEART), and the Trainee-Led Research and Audit for Sustainable Healthcare Canada (TRASH-CAN) programs which have supported teams of medical students and residents, respectively, to launch healthcare sustainability QI projects across Canada.

 Through launching this initiative, we hope to build future planetary health leaders, and develop and implement scalable trainee-led healthcare sustainability projects that can be replicated at various institutions across Canada.