The climate crisis is one of the most urgent risks to global health, leading to a rise in non-communicable and infectious diseases. Clinical trials can help identify new ways to prevent, detect, or treat disease, however they are responsible for approximately 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per year, equivalent to the carbon footprint of Belgium [1].

To drive action to reduce the emissions from clinical research, CEOs from AstraZeneca, GSK, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Sanofi and Roche - all members of the Sustainable Markets Initiative Health Systems Task Force - have signed an Open Letter, encouraging Clinical Research Organisations (CROs) to play their part in lowering carbon emissions. CROs are encouraged to measure emissions for all Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials from 2025 onwards, following on from the commitment by members of the Task Force to do the same at COP27.

Read the Open Letter on Clinical Trial decarbonisation here

1 European Commission Climate Action Progress Report 2024