Time

0830 -1000

Can Healthcare Quit the Fossil Fuel Addiction?

The climate emergency is the greatest existential threat of our time and as trusted leaders within our communities’, healthcare providers need to take urgent actions. The challenge is analogous to the threat posed to our patients by the Tobacco industry. This session is all about reducing the large carbon footprint of healthcare by moving away completely from energy derived from burning fossil fuels. It will identify specific actions that we can all take at a micro-level (individual practice), meso-level (local practices and clinical units) to macro-level (whole of health policy).

Bronwyn King

Dr Bronwyn King AO began her medical career working as a doctor on the lung cancer ward at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia. While doing her best to treat her patients (many of whom had started smoking in childhood) Dr King observed first-hand the truly devastating impact of tobacco – many deaths and much suffering. She was unaware that at the very same time she was investing in Big Tobacco via her compulsory superannuation (pension) fund. Tobacco Free Portfolios was set up in response to that uncomfortable discovery. Since then, Dr King has assembled an accomplished team that has been instrumental in advancing the switch to tobacco-free finance across the globe. Dr King has received numerous awards in recognition of her unique contribution to local and global health, including being appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to community health and in 2019 was named the Melburnian of the Year, an award bestowed by the City of Melbourne.