Planetary Health
at the Institute of General Practice
AK Planetary Health
“The climate crisis is the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century” – The Lancet, 2009. The healthcare sector accounts for approximately 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
We have a responsibility not to remain part of the problem, but to become part of the solution. As the Institute of General Medicine, we therefore see it as our duty to reduce our own carbon footprint, leverage our reach, and educate society as a whole about the health consequences of human-induced global environmental changes.
To consolidate existing efforts at the Institute of General Medicine, we have founded the Planetary Health Working Group and defined the following areas of action: research, teaching (undergraduate, advanced training, and continuing education), clinical practices, and internal institute activities. We will keep you updated on our developed concepts and collections of materials via our website and other channels. If you have any interest, suggestions, or questions, please feel free to contact us!
We welcome suggestions from colleagues, students, and other visitors. The working group is part of the Institute but is also open to external interested parties who would like to participate as guests. Please feel free to contact us for feedback and questions regarding planetary health topics via ifa.planetary-health@uniklinik-freiburg.de
Thank you very much!
Helpful links on the topic of planetary health
Mitigation in General Practice
Collection on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving climate neutrality (Planetary Health: Mitigation) in general practice:
- Guide to Climate-Sensitive Health Counseling for Primary Care Practices
- Climate-Neutral Medical Practices (KLUG, U.S. Department of the Environment)
- "Health for Future-Hamburg" Guide to Green Medical Practices
- Prof. Dr. Eckart von Hirschhausen: Klimadocs – Protecting Health and the Climate; Patient Information by Mail (Order or Reorder Free Information Materials for Your Waiting Room)
- Checklist for Family Medicine Practices
- Revised handout on climate-neutral practices
- Sustainable Practice Initiative - Checklist
- CO2 Calculator for the Medical Field / Wilderness International
- Climate Protection: Practical Implementation in General Practice from “Allgemeinarzt.digital” 2022
- Podcast (Ärztezeitung): A series of interviews on climate change and health ("Climate Council"); in two podcasts, private practitioners outlined the efforts they are making in their own practices (approx. 20 min): Podcast 1
- Podcast (Ärztezeitung): A series of interviews on climate change and health ("Climate Council"); in two podcasts, private practitioners discussed the efforts they are making in their own practices (approx. 20 min): Podcast 2
- Federal Ministry for the Environment et al.: Proper Disposal of Medicines
- DEGAM Guideline on Climate-Conscious Prescribing of Inhaled Medications
- Videos on how to use Inhalativa (Respiratory League)
- Environment & People Information Service: Environmental Damage Caused by Diclofenac
- Policy Brief on Sustainability in the Pharmaceutical Sector from the Centre for Planetary Health Policy
- DEGAM S2e Guideline (Living Guideline): Preventing Over- and Undercare (particularly Chapter 2: What Does Overcare Mean for the Climate?)
- Medication Management During Heat Waves: Guidance Using the Heidelberg Heat Table for Adjusting Medications
Implementation in primary care practices
Collection on adaptation to changing environmental and climate conditions (Planetary Health Action Area: Adaptation) in general practice:
Planetary Health, in general
- WONCA Global: To General Practitioners and Family Physicians Around the World—A Call to Action for “PLANETARY HEALTH” (2019)
- UNEP, Emissions Gap Report 2022 (2024 is available online)
- UNEP, *Making Peace With Nature: A Scientific Blueprint to Tackle the Climate, Biodiversity, and Pollution Emergencies*, February 2021
- EAT-Lancet Commission: The Planetary Health Diet
- Website of KLUG (Alliance for Climate Protection and Health), Germany's leading nongovernmental organization on climate change and health
- Leading journal: *The Lancet* – Planetary Health
- The Lancet Countdown on Planetary Health: Tracking the links between public health and climate change
- Homepage of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
- Journal of Health Monitoring S3/2023: The Impact of Climate Change on Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Resistance – Part 1 of the 2023 Status Report on Climate Change and Health
- Journal of Health Monitoring S4/2023: The Impact of Climate Change on Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health – Part 2 of the Status Report on Climate Change and Health
- Journal of Health Monitoring S6/2023: Climate Justice, Communication, and Options for Action – Part 2 of the 2023 Status Report on Climate Change and Health
- RKI - Status Report on Climate Change and Health (2025)
- C. Traidl-Hoffmann, C. Schulz, M. Herrmann, B. Simon (eds.): “Planetary Health – Climate, Environment, and Health in the Anthropocene” – Medizinisch Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft
- Climate Crisis and Health: On the Risks of Human-Induced Dynamics to Body and Mind / Martin Scherer, Josef Berghold, Helmwart Hierdeis (eds.). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2022
- Costello A. et al.: Managing the health effects of climate change. The Lancet 2009
- Tennison I et al: Health care's response to climate change: a carbon footprint assessment of the NHS in England. The Lancet Planetary Health 2021
- Climate Communication Handbook
- Shaping the transformation process
- DEGAM; Position Paper on Climate Change and Health 2020