Climate Action and Sustainability in Academic Medicine
Climate change is the greatest public health threat of the 21st century. And the health care sector is part of the problem, responsible for almost 4.4% of carbon pollution worldwide and 8.5% in the United States.
Academic health systems and medical schools are responding to the climate crisis in meaningful ways. Likewise, the AAMC has integrated climate action into its core work, aligned with the AAMC Strategic Plan.
Below is an overview of the AAMC’s climate action and sustainability work as well as opportunities for you to connect with peers, share your experiences, and learn from experts.
On this page:
Key Reports and Initiatives
The AAMC recognizes the fundamental role academic medicine plays in addressing sustainability and the health effects of climate change and aims to support these efforts with foundational scholarship and key partnerships as well as empowering the next generation to take climate action.
Climate Action in Academic Medicine Report
This overview of how medical schools and teaching hospitals and health systems are responding to climate change provides a foundational look at climate action in academic medicine. As of November 2022, 80% of medical schools and their parent universities and 50% of academic health systems were engaged in some level of climate action and sustainability efforts.
Climate Action and Sustainability Virtual Community
This free virtual gathering place is designed for individuals who have a professional or educational interest in sustainability and climate action across their organizational missions (clinical care, research, education, community engagement, and operations and facilities). This effort is supported by the AAMC, the American Society for Health Care Engineering, and Practice Greenhealth. The combined resources of our organizations can advance the critical work of academic health systems to address climate change across the missions of academic medicine.
Emerging Physician Leader Award and Scholarship
The AAMC offers this award in collaboration with Health Care Without Harm. The award recognizes a medical student, resident, or fellow who has demonstrated a passion for sustainable health care or a commitment to climate and health leadership.
Thought Leadership
The AAMC is a member of the National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Decarbonizing the U.S. Health Sector, a public-private partnership of leaders from across the health system committed to addressing the sector’s environmental impact while strengthening its sustainability and resilience. AAMC President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, is a member of the steering committee.
The AAMC has also authored commentaries to advance the conversation on climate change and sustainability and to galvanize the academic medicine community:
Medical Education
To better equip current and future clinicians and educators to effectively navigate the health effects of climate change and the role of academic medicine in taking climate action, medical education curricula have begun to adapt.
MedEdPORTAL Climate and Health Education Collection and Call for Submissions
This collection equips educators and institutions with curricular innovations to address climate change’s growing impact on health. Publications emphasize equitable care for all patients and communities by providing health professions educators with the tools they need to train the next generation to identify, treat, and prevent climate-related health issues. A call for innovative educational materials with a focus on climate change and health is also open.
Academic Medicine Climate Change Education and Sustainability Collection
This collection features articles on the importance of teaching learners about climate change and current efforts to do so, sustainability initiatives in medical education and health care, and discussions about the role of health professionals in responding to this public health crisis.
Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE)
The GCCHE works to ensure all health professionals around the world have the expertise needed to prevent and respond to the health impacts of climate change and to improve the quality of health and well-being of all. The AAMC is an association member.
Climate Change and Medical Education Resource Bundle
This Virtual Community collection includes resources from the AAMC and beyond focused on adapting medical education to include climate change and its health effects. Included are descriptions of climate change and planetary health curricula, resources for educators, podcasts and videos of interest, and an overview of the national organizations and initiatives promoting climate action in medicine. Registration required.
Health Equity
Climate change disproportionately affects communities that are made vulnerable by social and economic inequities. The AAMC Center for Health Justice has identified environmental justice as one of the most pressing health equity issues facing people across the United States.
Down to Earth: U.S. Adults Back Environmental Justice, But Policy Awareness Falls Short
This polling brief highlights national perspectives on environmental justice and underscores the need for increased public awareness of federal policies and actions aimed at addressing environmental injustices.
Rising Tide
This polling brief examines both youth and adult perspectives on climate change and emphasizes the importance of creating opportunities to empower young people in driving climate action decisions.
