Leveraging Digital Health to Heal the Planet

Summary

Human-driven climate change is reshaping global and planetary health, with rising temperatures, extreme weather, and environmental degradation affecting all life on Earth. As healthcare and digital technology evolve, digital health has the potential to contribute significantly to the global climate agenda, provided that the principles of environmental sustainability are integrated into daily digital technology developments and operations. Regardless of the political milieu in which we live, environmental sustainability can be strengthened by the ongoing global transition to renewable energy to reduce digital technology’s carbon footprint and by genuinely addressing the environmental impact of digital health interventions at organisational levels. This keynote examines the links between climate change and digital health, and emphasizes the need for proactive systems thinking engagement in greening the digital health sphere. Practical strategies are presented to create greener digital health systems and models of care, covering systemic and individual actions. Harnessing digital health to mitigate, rather than exacerbate, the climate crisis, we, as members of the healthcare sector, take meaningful climate action to protect the health of the people and the planet. By doing so, digital health practitioners pave a sustainable path for healthier planetary futures.