Dr Cristina Richie will speak on the environmental effects of Big Pharma.
Global pharmaceutical industry carbon emissions are more than 50% higher than the automotive sector. Big pharma carbon is an ethical problem from both a biomedical and environmental perspective. This talk will overview contributing factors to the immense carbon emissions of pharmaceuticals and discuss policies and practices for pharmaceutical carbon reduction.
The short talk will be followed by a conversation between Dr Richie and Phil Mackie, an NHS Consultant in Public Health and co-lead of the Scottish Managed Sustainable Health Network. The conversation and Q&A will be moderated by Jessamy Bagenal, Executive Editor of The Lancet.
A drinks reception will follow.
Cristina Richie, PhD is Lecturer in the Philosophy and Ethics of Technology department at the Delft University of Technology, and was IASH-SSPS Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities in 2020. Her research is dedicated to just, sustainable health care. In addition to her monographs, Principles of Green Bioethics: Sustainability in Health Care (Michigan State University Press, 2019); Environmental Ethics and Medical Reproduction (Oxford University Press, forthcoming), Dr Richie is the author of over fifty articles in journals such as The Lancet, American Journal of Bioethics, the Journal of Medical Ethics, and the Hastings Center Report.
Conversation partner: Phil Mackie, Scottish Director of Public Health, Scottish Government/NHS Scotland Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy Board
Moderator: Jessamy Bagenal, Executive Editor, The Lancet
Register to attend in-person or online: https://bigpharma.eventbrite.co.uk
This event forms part of a new series of public engagement events at IASH on the theme of Future Justice. The aim of the series is to bring the research undertaken at ISAH to a wider set of audiences beyond the academy. In doing so the aim is to open up a conversation on the conditions and practical actions needed to create more just social orders – what is needed now and then what. The series is in recognition of the critical role that Universities can play as places of convocation and debate and in bringing knowledge from research to bear on some of the most difficult and contested issues which face societies across the world today.
This is a free event, which means we overbook to allow for no-shows and to avoid empty seats. While we generally do not have to turn people away, this does mean we cannot guarantee everyone a place. Admission is on a first come, first served basis.
Accessibility:
This event will take place in the Project Room (1.06), 50 George Square, Edinburgh. Please see access information here (opens as PDF). The Project Room is on the first floor, and the building has a lift. If you have mobility issues and would like to discuss access, please contact iash@ed.ac.uk as soon as possible.