Environmentally Sustainable Anesthesia to Minimize Risks from Climate Change: a Societal Imperative or too Lofty a Goal?

Purpose of Review This review illustrates how anesthesia contributes to the carbon footprint. It gives practical reasons why anesthesiologists must understand and participate in sustainable anesthesia. Recent Findings Climate change, with the increasing frequency of natural disasters that have negatively impacted health, has received increasing attention within healthcare systems and anesthesia practices. Education on how to green the operating room (reduce, recycle, reuse, rethink, research) is imperative for all anesthesiologists in order for them to implement these actions. The benefit of single-use disposable equipment such as laryngoscopes needs to be assessed thoroughly using life cycle methodology. Summary Climate change is a global problem. Anesthesia contributes significantly to greenhouse emissions. Anesthesiologists must be educated on ways to mitigate this contribution and need tools that they can use to start reducing carbon emissions.