Social Sustainability
Planetary Health
Definition
Planetary health is a solutions-oriented, transdisciplinary field and social movement focused on analysing and addressing the impacts of human disruptions to Earth's natural systems on human health and all life on Earth. Launched by the Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission in 2015, it frames human health as dependent on the state of the natural systems — climate, biodiversity, land, oceans, biogeochemical cycles — that support it.
References
This reference provides supporting context for how “Planetary Health” is defined and used.
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Overview
How it is used
The field has its own journal (The Lancet Planetary Health), the Planetary Health Alliance network, and growing use in medical education, public health strategy and policy advocacy.
Why it matters
Planetary health gives the health sector a framework and mandate to act on environmental crises, mobilising one of the most trusted professional constituencies behind sustainability transitions.