Building sustainable resilient health systems: The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists statement on desflurane

Climate change is recognised as a public health emergency requiring urgent and decisive action. The adverse effects on the environment from delivering healthcare are well established, and identifying areas for positive change that are under our direct control as anaesthetists is imperative. Desflurane, a volatile anaesthetic gas, has significantly greater negative environmental and financial impacts, with little benefit to patient safety or quality of care, compared with clinically equivalent alternatives. In this context, the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists released a statement on desflurane in 2024 to provide balanced guidance for reducing desflurane consumption based on current evidence and expert consensus opinion. This article summarises the background for the statement and presents the 'ANZCA Statement on Desflurane' verbatim.