Percentage of Healthcare System's Carbon Footprint due to Desflurane and Plans to Reduce Its Use

Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Health (a) what percentage of our healthcare system's carbon footprint is due to anaesthetics; (b) what proportion of our anaesthetics usage is accounted for by desflurane; and (c) whether there are plans to reduce, or even phase out desflurane use in medical contexts where it is substitutable by other types of anaesthetics, in view of its extremely high carbon footprint.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) measures the carbon footprint of public healthcare institutions through their direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gases arising from fuel combustion and electricity consumption. However, MOH does not collect data on the impact of medical gas emissions on our carbon footprint.

There have been ongoing efforts in recent years to minimise desflurane use where medically appropriate. In 2019, the proportion of desflurane use ranged from 28% to 68% across the different institutions. This has decreased to a range of 5% to 42% in 2022.