The Lancet Planetary Health, March 2025

The greenhouse gas emissions of pharmaceutical consumption and production: an input–output analysis over time and across global supply chains

Climate change is increasingly recognised as one of the largest health challenges of the 21st century. Its impacts—such as droughts, storms, wildfires, and rising sea levels—threaten key environmental and social determinants of health, including clean air, safe water, and sustainable food systems. Additional consequences include extended allergy seasons, heat stress, and more water-borne and vector-borne diseases. Vulnerable populations, such as lower-income communities, women, children, older people, migrants, and those with pre-existing health conditions, face disproportionate risks. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive health response. To date, 93 countries have committed to developing sustainable, low-carbon health systems.

The growing awareness of climate-related health-care risks, along with increased emission mitigation commitments, has spurred investigations into the greenhouse gas footprint of the health-care sector at both national and global levels. Unlike conventional greenhouse gas accounting, which only considers emissions directly released from sources owned by health-care providers, the footprint method adopts a consumption-based approach. This method attributes both direct and indirect emissions throughout health-care supply chains to the final beneficiaries, because their expenditure ultimately drives these emissions.