Human Health in the Anthropocene: A Systems Approach for Action on Climate and Health

The last century has seen remarkable gains in life expectancy and population health outcomes, and significant declines in metrics such as child mortality. Yet traditional global health and public health agendas have not generally considered whether improvements in health were made at the expense of the natural systems on which we depend for our food, safe water, and clean air. As our planet is pushed closer to its limits, the potential trade-offs between health and the environment is forcing us to redefine our agendas, and consider ‘planetary health’.