One single gastrointestinal endoscopy emits 38.45 kgs of CO2, reports AIG study

While 38.45 kg carbon dioxide equivalent per procedure may seem relatively small, the cumulative impact of numerous procedures performed globally could be substantial

Hyderabad: A single gastrointestinal endoscopy (GE) procedure on a patient at a tertiary hospital causes greenhouse gas emissions equivalent of 38.45 kg of carbon dioxide, a new study taken-up by Hyderabad-based Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG), said.

While 38.45 kg carbon dioxide equivalent per procedure may seem relatively small, the cumulative impact of numerous procedures performed globally could be substantial. For instance, if one endoscopy unit performs 10,000 procedures in a year, the total emissions would be 3, 84,500 kg of carbon dioxide.

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Offsetting this would necessitate approximately 17,500 mature trees absorbing carbon dioxide annually, assuming a single mature tree can absorb 22 kg of carbon dioxide per year, the study titled ‘Carbon footprinting and environmental impact of gastrointestinal endoscopy procedures at a tertiary care institution: a prospective multi-dimensional assessment’, published in the British Medical Journal’s ‘Gut’ (February, 2025), said.

This highlights the urgent need for sustainable practices in healthcare to mitigate the environmental impact of these procedures, said Dr Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman, AIG Hospitals and one of the researchers of the study.

“The study also found that patient travel is the largest contributor to emissions, accounting for 83.09 percent of the total emissions, emphasizing the need for sustainable transportation options and improved healthcare accessibility to reduce travel-related emissions,” he added.

The study revealed that India’s waste management practices, including recycling 25.7 percent of hospital waste, save equivalent of 380 kg carbon dioxide in two weeks. It also showed that waste generation per procedure in India (0.504 kg) is significantly lower than in western countries (2 to 3 kg per procedure), Dr. Hardik Rughwani, Lead Researcher, said.