Global health and environmental change: linking research and policy

Improving the local and global environment will have immediate benefits for health, welfare and income. The scientific evidence that adverse global environmental change will damage health is accumulating, involving both direct and indirect mechanisms, including the effect of lost livelihoods. Environmental changes will undermine some of the scientific, technological and social progress which has led to the large increase in global life expectancy observed since 1950. Whilst local environmental risks still cause significant impacts on human health and welfare, the biggest threat to global health appears to be from a cascade of future adverse environmental effects. Reducing this risk is vital not just for environmental and ecological integrity, but also to protect future health. Much can be done to promote technologies, policies and lifestyles in order to improve both health and environmental conditions.

► The future impacts on health of environmental changes in the coming decades are becoming better understood. The ‘climate change penalty’ will undermine future benefits to global health driven by socio-economic development, especially for undernutrition and infectious diseases.
► In the longer term, threats to health are also significant from many aspects of adverse global environmental change. Policy decisions need to be informed by both Earth System models, and our current knowledge regarding sensitivity of global health to environmental determinants.
► Global environmental policy can drive beneficial environmental actions at the local, national and international level. Environmental actions that also have health benefits should be prioritised; the current evidence base is very strong for actions in energy, transport, food and infrastructure sectors.
► Climate mitigation policies can have large health ‘co-benefits’ which will lessen the burden of chronic (non-communicable) diseases.