U.S. hospitals can show the world that America is serious about climate action by doing more to reduce their carbon footprints, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Monday.
And that’s the case “regardless of who is at the helm in the White House,” Becerra added — a nod to the possibility that former President Donald Trump reclaims the White House and rolls back many of the climate initiatives President Joe Biden has put into place.
“We have to continue jumping in the water, because that’s the only way to get the rest of the world to make that commitment,” Becerra said at an Earth Day event held by Johns Hopkins University’s Business of Health Initiative.
The U.S. health care sector accounts for some 8.5 percent of domestic greenhouse gas emissions — meaning American hospitals’ willingness to go green can have a significant global impact.
