Australian State Removes Common Anaesthetic in ‘Low Carbon’ Push

Western Australia removes desflurane anaesthesia from surgeries after it was identified as having 2,540 times more global warming potential than carbon dioxide.

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A common anaesthetic agent that has been identified as a potent greenhouse gas has been approved for immediate removal from hospitals in Western Australia, as part of its health department’s mission to cut carbon footprint.

Desflurane, one of the most commonly used anaesthetic drugs in surgeries, has 2,540 times the global warming potential (GWP) of carbon dioxide, according to Western Australia’s public health system (WA Health).

Calculated by the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, GWP describes the amount of heat trapped over a 100-year period within the atmosphere, compared with a similar mass of carbon dioxide (CO2).

For reference, CO2 has a GWP of 1.

Desflurane will be phased out from all public hospitals, but can still be made available through an individual patient approval process if no alternative can be used.

This Australian-first decision was driven by clinicians and reflects a broader strategy to create a climate-resilient and sustainable healthcare system, Chief Health Officer Dr. Andrew Robertson said, as WA Health strives to align with government targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent below 2020 levels by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

“When you consider the logistics involved in delivering care to people around our vast State, it is not surprising a considerable level of emissions are attributable to the health sector,” Dr. Robertson said in a statement on Oct. 5.

“Clinical care, including pharmaceuticals, is responsible for a significant portion of the carbon emissions of the health sector.

“We need to do everything we can to reduce this footprint, and with clinicians, we’re looking at ground-breaking and practical ways to make our health system as low carbon as possible, while delivering high-quality care to patients.”

Over 50 Times Higher Emissions Than Alternatives

The advantages of desflurane over other common anaesthesia such as sevoflurane and isoflurane are its low blood solubility and rapid induction. It has the most rapid onset of the inhaled anaesthetics.

However, according to WA Health, desflurane emits 50 to 60 times more carbon emissions than sevoflurane.