A call for urgent action to safeguard our planet and our health in line with the helsinki declaration

Planetary health: from concept to decisive action

Planetary health: a new science for exceptional action

Integrating planetary health into clinical guidelines to sustainably transform health care

Climate change and health promotion in Australia: Navigating political, policy, advocacy and research challenges.

Uniting the Global Gastroenterology Community to Meet the Challenge of Climate Change and Non-Recyclable Waste

In an Editorial published in The Lancet on Jan 16, 2019 was declared to be the year of nutrition. And indeed, this announcement was set to coincide with the launch of two Commissions investigating the links between food systems, human health, and the environment. The first, the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems focused on identifying the challenges inherent to maintaining food systems that are both environmentally sustainable and beneficial for human health, whereas the second report, The Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition and Climate Change, was centred around human systems and their role in the interplay between climate, nutrition, and health. Both Commissions make planetary health central to their messages, with the so-called planetary health diet arising from the EAT-Lancet Commission bringing the concept to a broad new audience. With debates around this diet reverberating in canteens and kitchens across the world, planetary health has rarely been discussed more. However, the purpose of the Commissions was not to tell people what they can and cannot eat and nor did they set out to propose the one diet that would save the world. Instead, they aimed to illustrate the ways that food production and consumption, perhaps more so than any other human activities, inextricably link the earth's natural systems and human health, and that this relationship does not have to boil down to a choice between health or the environment. Furthermore, the development of sustainable food systems should not be represented purely as a matter of personal responsibility and consumer choice. In the EAT-Lancet Commission, for example, diet is only one aspect of the future projections of environmental impacts, with important roles reserved for productivity and waste. Even if entirely vegan diets were adopted worldwide, the authors estimate that, without improvements to productivity and reductions in waste, food production would still be pushing cropland use, nitrogen and phosphorus application, and biodiversity loss beyond their sustainable environmental boundaries. This is not to attack the importance of dietary choices. Both Commissions show that something is clearly going wrong. In the EAT-Lancet report, no combination of improved productivity and reduced waste was sufficient to bring greenhouse gas emissions within the proposed boundary under the “business as usual” dietary scenario, whereas the Global Syndemic report contains the alarming statistic that, globally, 3% of children with stunting are also obese—a figure that should be closer to 0%. As an example of the complexity of diet and natural systems, water use straddles food production, dietary choices, and environmental impacts. Water is, of course, central to food production, but the diversion of water for cropland can, without the correct management, contribute to aquatic habitat loss, aquifer depletion, soil salinisation, and land erosion. Contamination of freshwater sources through unsustainable agricultural practices such as the overapplication of nitrogen-based fertilisers can further compound these environmental impacts. Currently, much water is diverted for the irrigation of land used to grow crops that will eventually serve as animal feed. The EAT-Lancet Commission notes that if current dietary trajectories continue, water use will be pushed to the edge of the defined sustainability boundary by 2050. However, as also noted, even under the alternative dietary scenarios, water consumption would still need to increase from present levels to account for greater consumption of water-intensive sources of plant protein such as nuts and legumes. The greatest contributions to reducing water use to below the boundary level in the Commission's models come from improvements to productivity and reductions in waste. Perhaps the main reason nutrition has thrust planetary health into public consciousness is the role of food in culture. Food is essential to life, and diet and culture form the very fabric of life. The passion with which the supporters and doubters of these Commissions have been debating them are testament to this, with some critics feeling as though the recommendations constitute an attack on their culture. Neither of the two Commissions ignores the role of culture in dietary choices, but to address this issue in the kind of depth that it deserves would be a major and global initiative, beyond the remit of the Commissions. Not that researchers should shy away from studying nutrition in the context of culture—in fact, this type of ambitious multidisciplinary work is what planetary health is about, and The Lancet Planetary Health welcomes submissions that continue to elucidate those connections.

A planetary health-organ system map to integrate climate change and health content into medical curricula.

Planetary health: A pragmatic theoretical framework to guide nursing education, research, and practice.

Issues The interconnected emergencies, such as climate change, biodiversity loss and increase of both communicable and non-communicable diseases are linked to planetary health concept. The Nature Step to Health Program 2022-2032 combines the public health and environmental goals towards a more sustainable way of life at the local level with an education and communication campaigns in the City of Lahti and Päijät-Häme region. Problems The program emphasizes the interconnectedness of human health with the balance of natural systems. Public health, climate change, and biodiversity loss are all interlinked, with unsustainable lifestyles negatively impacting both human health and the environment. Conversely, sustainable choices tend to benefit both environmental and public health. Results The program sets five key goals and four cross-cutting tasks that promote the achievement of all objectives concurrently. The key focus is on practical actions that have a measurable impact on public health, biodiversity, climate change mitigation, and adaptation. The program enhances understanding of the interdependence between human health and environmental conditions, fosters collaboration across health and environmental sectors, and accelerates concrete steps toward planetary health e.g. more mobility, plant-based meals, healthy living environment and nature connections. Lessons The collaboration is strengthened through research, joint efforts, communication, and education by: 1. Advancing planetary health research and using evidence-based knowledge to enhance actions and practices. 2. Enhancing communication, counseling and guidance through various channels to raise awareness of planetary health practices. 3. Integrating systematically planetary health into professional education, training and further education. 4. Integrating the program into regional, city and municipal strategies, programs and plans. Key messages • Increased understanding of the links between human health and environmental well-being and strengthened inter-sectoral cooperation. • Accelerated actions for planetary health and enhanced policy influence to support sustainable health and environment.

The report of the Rockefeller Foundation/Lancet Commission on Planetary Health described how human health directly depends upon the environment. It takes a broad perspective not only acknowledging climate change as the most important global environmental threat to health but also recognizing other impacts, including dramatic loss of tropical forests, land degradation, loss of biodiversity, declining freshwater resources, ocean acidification, and over-exploitation of fisheries. All pose challenges to human health gains, leading to the concept of planetary health—that the human condition is tied to natural systems. The Planetary Health Commission report highlights several major concerns arising from environmental change including impacts on food availability and quality, increases in natural disasters and population displacement, and newly emerging diseases, e.g. from zoonotic infections. Three challenges emerge from the report: the first is imagination, or conceptual challenges—better metrics are needed to assess human progress within the context of environmental change; the second is a lack of relevant knowledge, requiring more research on the inter-linkages between environmental change and health and on the effectiveness of potential solutions; and the third is implementation of solutions, ensuring that the science is translated into policy and practice. There are many opportunities to promote planetary health including developing sustainable and healthy cities, encouraging more resilient health systems and disaster preparedness, reducing food waste, preserving ecosystems, and redirecting harmful subsidies in food, agriculture, fishery and energy sectors. Many current trends are driven by inequitable, inefficient, and unsustainable patterns of resource consumption and technological development, coupled with population growth, but solutions lie within reach. Prosperity must be redefined as an enhancement of the quality of life and the delivery of improved health for all, together with respect for natural systems.

Planetary health is a concept that focuses not only on human health but wider - on the health of our planet. Health is not only a privilege of human beings. Planetary health emphasizes the interconnected nature of human health and environmental health. This also makes a shift in the direction from human anthropocentricity to a more fair approach - health of the whole planet. Human well-being is dependent on the health of the planet, including clean air, water, and food sources. Paradigm shift towards planetary health promotes a holistic view of health that encompasses social, economic, and environmental factors. It considers the complex interactions between humans, animals, plants, and ecosystems. Planetary health insists on a preventative approach by addressing root causes such as pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss. We should be aware of human responsibility linked to terrible symptoms of our Planet like heat waves, fires, droughts, floods... Planetary health approaches underline the importance of sustainable practices that protect the environment, promoting human health, but also actions to achieve that. By adopting sustainable lifestyles, industries, and policies, we can ensure the well-being of current and future generations. Planetary health calls for global collaboration, interconnecting nature, environment and human health challenges. By prioritizing planetary health, we show that we can be less selfish and that we respect nature and the environment. Planetary health insists on a paradigm shift towards a more integrated and sustainable approach using social and nature sciences in a holistic approach. But, we should also use Planetary health concept as a call for peace, which is a condition for all other achievements.

A framework to guide planetary health education

One Health and planetary health research landscapes in the Arab world.

Our beautiful planet has been profoundly altered by human activities. Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, land use changes, and disrupted cycles of water, nitrogen, and phosphorus, to name several alterations, in turn have far-reaching impacts on human health, especially targeting the most vulnerable. Planetary Health approaches the health of people and the health of the planet as inextricably linked. This chapter introduces the Planetary Health framework by exploring four examples: climate change, chemical contamination, land use changes, and biodiversity loss. It concludes by considering innovative ways of thinking, and novel ethical considerations, raised by the current crisis of planetary degradation.

Beyond tokenism: meaningful youth engagement in planetary health