The planetary health equity hothouse: A research agenda for positive change

Planetary health equity (PHE) is the sustainable and equitable enjoyment of the environment and good health. PHE is a concept that recognizes the impact of climate change on social and health inequities. It also recognizes the importance for health equity of considering planetary systems - if we don’t have a functioning Earth system, we have social disruption and risks to human survival and good health. Planetary health inequity therefore embodies the common drivers of climate change and health inequity [1].TagedEnd TagedPPHE is in crisis. Human-made climate change is devastating global populations through hotter temperatures, wildfires, and more severe and frequent storms, flooding, and landslides [2]. A tsunami of health inequities will result from this, as pre-existing inequities in living and working conditions ensure that socially disadvantaged groups and people in low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately impacted by climate change [3]. For example, affluent people can afford to live in insulated buildings with air conditioning and air purifiers, or add flood proofing and extra drainage. Meanwhile, people who are poor, the elderly, people with disabilities, and those who are socially marginalized are the least able to adapt to the changing climate, unable to escape the fires and heat, and live in dwellings and environments that amplify its effects. Some people may leave their communities and perhaps the country - this will exacerbate inequities, with those who have more financial and social capital having more options [4]. All of this climate change-exacerbated social inequity adds to existing inequities in disease burdens and premature mortality.