Minister Steffi Lemke, Federal Environmental Minister, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, Germany
Elizabeth Mrema, Executive Secretary, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
The health impacts of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste – what we call the triple planetary crisis – are all around us. They are in us.
The emergence of zoonotic diseases is linked to how we destroy and consume nature and species. The changing climate creates ideal conditions for deadly diseases to inhabit new breeding grounds – a trend that is growing at only 1.1 degrees C of global warming, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s new report told us on Monday. Pollution, meanwhile, serves up an unpalatable and unwanted buffet of health risks, from toxic chemicals in plastics to dirty air to antimicrobial resistance.
The threats and their causes are complex and interlinked, but it all boils down to a simple idea: when the planet gets sick, animals and people get sick too.
If we act on the triple planetary crisis, we protect human health and reduce the pressure on healthcare systems. We all know what we must do in this area – in terms of reducing emissions, etc. – so I’m not going to get into this topic.
But we do need to talk about strengthening the One Health approach – which treats human, animal and planetary health as one and the same.
The One Health approach shifts incentives from environmental damage to environmental healing. It coordinates resources to assess, respond to and prevent problems. It mobilizes expertise and innovation from doctors, public health officials, veterinarians and environmental experts to spark innovation.
This approach can help to deploy more sustainable farming practices, set up early warning systems, promote sustainable trade in domestic and wild animals, and strengthen the tenure and management rights of local communities and indigenous people.
However, boosting the One Health approach does require additional resources, which is why this new nature for health trust fund is so exciting.
If we get more funding behind One Health actions now, we can reduce the risk of pandemics, save millions of lives and billions of dollars in healthcare costs, and slow the triple planetary crisis.
Now if that isn’t a return on investment, I don’t know what is.
