The Welsh Government is pledging £2.4m in a bid to tackle the 1m tonne of carbon emissions produced by the NHS every year. Project ideas from health boards and NHS organisations across Wales will be granted a share of the fund in a hope to reduce CO2 emissions by more than a third by 2030. NHS Wales is currently the largest public sector carbon emitter in Wales meaning the government will need to slash this if Wales is to reach its target of Net Zero by 2050.
NHS Wales chief executive Judith Paget said: “As the largest public sector emitter of CO2, the NHS in Wales needs to play its part to protect the health and wellbeing of future generations. We can all help with this effort by returning unused medication to their pharmacy, asking for a more sustainable inhaler or using active or public transport to attend appointments.
“We are also encouraging applications from NHS organisations for up to £60k in the first year for small to medium sized initiatives to reduce carbon emissions or help the sector adapt to the impacts of climate change.” Last year, the Welsh Government published its NHS Wales Decarbonisation Strategic Delivery Plan which included 46 initiatives to help meet the 2030 and 2050 targets.
