WHAT IS PLANETARY HEALTH?

Climate Change

Increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, driven by human activity, negatively impacts global ecological systems and human health.

Human-driven emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and black carbon are primarily responsible for an unstable and changing climate, and most are produced by burning fossil fuels and altering natural habitats. Glacial melting, rising sea levels, increased global temperatures, more frequent extreme weather events, and changes in the abundance, distribution, and composition of species are all linked to the changing climate.  

Globally, nearly twice as many natural disasters occurred between 2000 and 2019 and affected roughly 1 billion more people than the period spanning 1980 and 1999. Heat waves, droughts, fires, floods, tropical storms, and other extreme weather events pose both near- and long-term threats to human health and intergenerational equity. For example, particulate matter from fires reduces air quality and causes morbidity and mortality from cardiorespiratory disease; flooding leads to biological contamination of water supplies, displacement, injury, and trauma; and more intense coastal storms, combined with sea level rise and loss of coastal barrier systems (mangrove forests, vegetated dunes, coral reefs, and wetlands), generate a “triple threat” for inhabitants of low-lying coastal areas. Survivors of extreme weather events face long-term, serious physical and mental health impacts.

Climate change and ecosystem transformations are inextricably connected and often mutually exacerbated.

The field of Planetary Health uses a systems approach to connect the complexities of anthropogenic drivers of climate change to natural hazards. Understanding these relationships in terms of cause-and-effect is the first step in addressing climate change and its widespread effects on the planet’s ecosystems and well-being of its inhabitants. 

We must take note of these causal relationships and advocate for living within planetary boundaries to preserve what climate stability we can for the safety of future generations and our biosphere.

Climate Change Resources

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Nursing for the Future of Human and Planetary Health: Integrating Planetary Health Perspectives into Education and Practice

Climate Change Health and Care Systems

Nursing for the Future of Human and Planetary Health: Integrating Planetary Health Perspectives into Education and Practice

This Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) policy column addresses the growing need for nurses to adopt a Planetary Health perspective amid rising climate-related and environmental health challenges. The column highlights the formal inclusion of Planetary Health in Japan’s Model Core Curriculum for Nursing Education starting in academic year 2026, and emphasizes its relevance for undergraduate training, community-based care, and continuing professional development in a changing climate.

• Research & Reports

Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI)

Complex psychological responses to climate change: A longitudinal study exploring the interplay between climate change awareness and climate change anxiety among Chinese adolescents. BMC Public Health.

Mental Health Climate Change

Complex psychological responses to climate change: A longitudinal study exploring the interplay between climate change awareness and climate change anxiety among Chinese adolescents. BMC Public Health.

• Research & Reports

Ge, J., Pan, W., Liang, X., et al.

Conceptual GeoHealth Framework for disaster response research: Case study for Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) fires and data integration. Earth and Space Science.
Sunrise in Los Angeles during the Palisades fire

Noncommunicable Diseases Climate Change

Conceptual GeoHealth Framework for disaster response research: Case study for Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) fires and data integration. Earth and Space Science.

This study creates a framework to explore how wildfires affect health. It brings together experts to identify areas of improvement in data collection for understanding health impacts, helping communities better prepare for and respond to disasters.

• Research & Reports

Barkoski, J., Liu, A., Van Fleet, E., et al.

Climate change and malaria control: A call to urgent action from Africa’s frontlines. Malaria Journal.
A mosquito is super imposed against an arid landscape under a blue sky.

Infectious Diseases Climate Change

Climate change and malaria control: A call to urgent action from Africa’s frontlines. Malaria Journal.

This comment reflects the expertise and insights of 19 National Malaria Control/Elimination Programs and aims to raise awareness, inform policy discussions, and strengthen global partnerships to address the intersection of malaria and climate change.

• News

Caminade, C., Ayala, D., de Chevigny, T., et al.


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