In 2015, The Rockefeller Foundation-Lancet Commission on Planetary Health produced a seminal report concerning the relationship between human health and the condition of our natural systems, including the climate, forests, lands, and oceans.2
It defined planetary health as the “health of human civilization and the state of the natural systems on which it depends.”3 Planetary health is a rapidly growing field of research and increasingly, applied research.4 It is becoming more mainstream in the development context5 and is now the foundation of the climate and health strategic initiative at the organisation where I work, Save the Children (SC).
Despite the economic growth that has brought large socioeconomic benefits such as reduced poverty, we have seen significant increased risks to human health and the environment. Part of the reason is that the scale of human activity has increased dramatically since the mid 20th Century.
Since 1950, the human population has almost tripled and real global GDP has increased sevenfold, leading to increased use of
