Health Professionals in support of Fossil Fuel Divestment

ENDORSE FOSSIL FUEL DIVESTMENT IN THE HEALTH SECTOR

Health professionals at all levels, health students, climate/health advocates: consider adding your name in support of our letter to +400 senior US healthcare executives, urging them to stop investing in fossil fuels. Nurses, Therapists, PAs, Patient-care Technicians, Surgeons, Pathologists, CNRNAs, Medical Students: your voice is powerful. Thank you for endorsing. As of July 2026, this letter is endorsed by Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO), and Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate (HPHC.) Read the letter here

The Health and Financial Costs of Fossil Fuels

$820 billion in annual health costs from fossil fuel-driven air pollution and climate change (U.S. Senate Hearings, 2023).
Thousands of hospital evacuations from extreme weather events across the world from Florida to Mozambique to China.
National IV fluid shortages caused by extreme storms damaging manufacturing plants (2017, 2024).

Fossil Fuel Investments Contradict Healthcare’s Mission

Kaiser Permanente: Over $2 billion in fossil fuel investments, including $600 million in Exxon, Shell, and Suncor.
Providence: Despite bold climate claims, invests in Exxon, Halliburton, and Suncor—the world’s most carbon-intensive oil producer.
Cleveland Clinic: Holds $10 million in fossil fuel companies, including Dakota Access Pipeline operator.
Mayo Clinic: Owns oil production facilities and holds stock in ConocoPhillips (Willow Arctic drilling project).

Why This Matters to Health Professionals

1 in 12 hospitals worldwide will face severe climate disaster risks by 2100 (XDI Risk Report, 2023).
1 in 5 preventable deaths globally is linked to fossil fuel pollution (Harvard Research, 2021).
Climate change-driven disasters disrupt patient care, supply chains, and hospital operations.

Join the Movement for Fossil Fuel Divestment

Over 1,630 institutions, including the National Academy of Medicine, Rockefeller Foundation, and Ford Foundation, have already committed to divesting from fossil fuels. It’s time for our healthcare institutions to do the same.

As frontline providers—nurses, surgeons, ER doctors, CRNAs, pathologists, and more—we must advocate for a healthcare system that protects patients, not fuels a crisis.

This is our chance to make a real impact. Join us and endorse fossil fuel divestment today.

Thank you,

Amy Gray, Associate Director of Climate Finance, Stand.earth

Don Lieber, Campaign Director, First Do No Harm

Endorsing Organizations:

More than 1,600 institutions have committed to divest from fossil fuels. See who they are here, and share with your colleagues.

Tell Our CEOs: Prioritize Health. Stop Investing in Fossil Fuels.

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Report

The Biggest Malpractice: How Hospitals Betray the Public Trust with Billions in Fossil FuelPension Investments

The first-of-its-kind report finds pension funds of four major hospital networks including the Mayo Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, Ascension Health System, and the nation’s largest health system HCA Healthcare have over $4.6 billion invested in fossil fuels. Download and read the report here.

View Report

Health Library

Research on the topics of climate change and human health.

Environmental Impacts Impacts of Extreme Heat

Spain: 1,000 excessive deaths attributed to extreme heat during second hottest June ever

Reuters (July 2026)

Health Impacts Maternal Health Pediatric Health Prenatal Health

Structural birth defects and exposure to oil and gas wells during pregnancy

Pediatric Research (2026)

Cardiovascular Disease Health Impacts Maternal Health Prenatal Health

Congential anomolies including cardiac and circulatory defects associated with exposure to oil and gas development

Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology (2022)

Health Impacts Vector borne disease

Chikungunya: Excruciating disease previously contained to tropics, now spreading into Europe due to rising global temperatures

The Royal Society - Feb 2026

Asthma Cancer Cardiovascular Disease Dengue Fever Health Impacts Impacts of Extreme Heat Infectious Disease Leukemia Maternal Health Pediatric Health PM2 Vector borne disease Wildfires

Report: Fueling Sickness – The Hidden Health Costs of Fossil Fuel Pollution (2025)

Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR)

Asthma Cancer Cardiovascular Disease Dengue Fever Health Disparities Health Impacts Healthcare Infrastructure Healthcare Supply Chain Human Rights Impacts of Extreme Heat Impacts on Health System Infectious Disease Leukemia PM2 Prenatal Health

2025 Global Report of the Lancet Countdown on Climate and Health: Comprehensive Findings from Across the World

The Lancet

Join the growing call for health sector divestment from fossil fuels.

As health professionals we demand the executives of our institutions adhere to the same core ethical principle in their investment policies -managing funds in our name -as they expect of us in our clinics in the era of climate change: First, Do No Harm.

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