10 November 2021 – Health, Tech and Climate: COP26 Fringe

Wednesday 10th November 2021, 16:00-17:00

In the first two weeks of November, COP26 is being hosted in Glasgow and there is no dedicated health and care track. Future Care Capital (FCC) is putting on a fringe event to explore health, climate and technology.

FCC, working with The NHSX AI Lab, has recently launched two pieces of research exploring the interactions between technology, climate and health.

The first, which can be found here, is a publication in The Journal of Climate Change and Health, reviews the use of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to improve health outcomes, the climate impact of developing such solutions and the opportunities for using AI to improve the climate of healthcare systems.

The second piece of research (to be launched at the end of the year) sets a starting point for better understanding the digital technologies being adopted by the NHS and wider health and care system, the climate impacts of such technologies and the opportunities to use such technologies to improve models of care as well as reducing emissions.

This research demonstrates that there are substantial opportunities for digital technology to improve the climate impact of the health and care system. However there are some major questions which need to be answered rapidly to ensure  emissions can be effectively reduced and that any technical systems contributing are accounted for.

Topics covered

• What is the climate impact of technology development for health and care?
• Is tech development having a detrimental impact on climate / environment? What could this mean for population health?
• How can we better visualise the climate impact of technology? Are trees, car miles and transatlantic flights enough?
• How can tech be used in health and care settings to reduce impact on climate?
• What are the current unknowns and how can we address them?

Panelists 

• Peter Bloomfield – Head of Policy and Research, Future Care Capital
• Ryan Jenkinson – Data Scientist, Centre for Net Zero
• Pete Clutton-Brock – CEO, Radiance International
• Leanne Summers – Head of AI Strategy, NHSX
• Ben Tongue – Sustainability Lead, NHS Digital

You can register for this free event now by clicking, here.