Detailed carbon footprint of long-term care in an aging society

As the concept of planetary health garners increased attention, the necessity of quantifying the carbon footprint (CF) of healthcare supply chains has become more pronounced. Although global studies have examined the CF of the healthcare sector, there remains a notable gap in research concerning the CF of long-term care (LTC) services, which are essential to human health and welfare. We harmonized environmental input–output analysis with data derived from the national representative consumer-expenditure survey and LTC insurance statistics obtained from domestic economic and medical datasets to detail the CF of Japanese households requiring LTC. In Japan, the CF per capita associated with care was boosted as the care level increased. Notably, there is a disparity of up to 14 times between the care level with the lowest CF emissions and that with the highest CF emissions. Furthermore, households with LTC insurance demonstrate higher per-capita CF than those without such insurance, even when other household consumption needs are considered. This trend may mitigate the reduction in total CF related to household consumption, despite a national population decline, due to the anticipated rise in demand for LTC driven by an aging population by the year 2050 which is the target year for achieving carbon neutrality in Japan. Although renewable energy promotion represents an effective supply-side solution, a demand-side approach, such as the prevention of LTC, offers benefits for both climate change mitigation and human health

Carbon Footprint · Footprint · Greenhouse gas · Term (time · Climate Change and Health Impacts · Environmental Science · Global Health Care Issues · Health disparities and outcomes · Geology · History · Oceanography

• Humanity’s unsustainable environmental footprint

  Open Access•Arjen Y Hoekstra, Thomas Wiedmann et al.•Science•2014

  Añadir item

• Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch

  Open Access•Sarah Whitmee, Anna Haines et al.•The Lancet•2015

  Añadir item

• The environmental footprint of health care

  Open Access•Manfred Lenzen, Arunima Malik et al.•The Lancet Planetary Health•2020

  Añadir item

• Environmental Impacts of the U.S. Health Care System and Effects on Public Health

  Open Access•Matthew J Eckelman, Jodi D Sherman et al.•PLoS ONE•2016

  Añadir item

• Ageing society in developed countries challenges carbon mitigation

  Open Access•Heran Zheng, Yin Long et al.•Nature Climate Change•2022

  Añadir item

• The role of the health sector in tackling climate change

  Open Access•Zeynep Or, Anna-Veera Sëppanen•Health Policy•2024

  Añadir item

• International comparison of health care carbon footprints

  Open Access•Peter‐Paul Pichler, Ingram S Jaccard et al.•Environmental Research Letters•2019

  Añadir item

• Carbon and material footprints of a welfare state

  Open Access•Juudit Ottelin, J T Heinonen et al.•Environmental Science & Policy•2018

  Añadir item