The urgent necessity of global environmentally sustainable kidney care.

EKHA’s recent article urges policymakers to foster climate-resilient kidney care systems through accountable and environmentally sustainable low-carbon healthcare solutions. The article highlights the devastating threat of unaddressed climate change to people’s health and equity, particularly those with kidney diseases as well as the substantial environmental  impact of kidney replacement therapies (KRTs). 

KRTs continue to create a disproportionally high environmental load. These are responsible for up to half of healthcare emissions due to excessive water and energy required and the plastic waste produced.

Nephrology experts propose a pathways to achieve climate resilient kidney care through the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) ‘GREEN-K’ initiative – a global, collaborative, and multidisciplinary initiative that promotes: 

1. Education on green nephrology and environmentally sustainable health systems
2. Procurement, infrastructure, and innovation of sustainable kidney care products
3. Sustainable clinical pathways in kidney care

Initiatives like this will advance the ‘race to zero’ in healthcare and environmental accountability to save the lives of patients diagnosed with kidney diseases.  

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