Theme 4: Impact of Health Research on Climate Change

The impact of health research on climate change is increasingly recognised. Often this focusses on the identifiable direct impacts, such as international travel, with less attention given to indirect impacts, such as data processing and storage. These direct and indirect impacts raise questions about the responsibilities of researchers to mitigate them (collective action problems). The responsibilities to act to minimise harms is underpinned by the well-established, albeit complex, relationships between climate change and health outcomes.

The presenters in this session explore questions of who should bear the responsibilities to put in place climate mitigation strategies and actions. Their analyses raise important ethical questions including the connections between responsibilities and capacities to act; and how decisions about who should act are made.

In the first presentation, Gabby Samuel shares findings from an international project which aims to inform international guidance to mitigate the climate impacts of clinical trials. This study considers the views of actors within the clinical trial research ecosystem, foregrounding the lack of structural incentives to prioritise low emission approaches to clinical trial conduct. Complementing this, Mercury Shinto shares the views of researchers in Kenya and Senegal who reflect on how to balance their climate mitigation responsibilities against advancing the health of their populations. The research findings suggest that researchers view that the responsibilities to mitigate harms lies with Western countries and organisations responsible for developing, and hosting, data intensive technologies being applied to address local health needs.

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