Health-Care Industry Emissions Elude Biden Regulatory Efforts

The Biden administration is fighting limitations in its authority to slice carbon emissions out of the health-care sector, deploying mostly carrots to incentivize industry action because it has so few regulatory sticks.

The problem is acute because health care makes up 8.5% of US carbon emissions, according to the White House. That’s nearly twice the amount the sector contributes globally.

In a bid to bring down those emissions, the White House has been promoting a range of tax credits available to health-care organizations in the recent climate law. The administration is also taking softer steps, such as urging hospitals ...