All of these contribute to inequality and instability and they are all far less expensive to prevent than to react to, in an attempt to manage consequences.
No nation is isolated from the impact of poor environmental conditions. To successfully advance policies, practices and financial investment in global development as well as address environmental challenges, justifications must be framed holistically based on how they can improve the security, prosperity and well-being of citizens and nations globally; policy options and sound solutions should be backed by economic analysis and data to demonstrate the savings and/or the new sources of revenue (Haines 2017; Markandya et al. 2018).
In the view of the public health authors of the joint commission on planetary health of the Rockefeller Foundation and The Lancet, “solutions [to the environmental crisis] lie within reach and should be based on the redefinition of prosperity to focus
on the enhancement of quality of life and delivery of improved health for all, together with respect for the integrity of natural systems” (Whitmee et al. 2015).
The changes needed to ensure a Healthy Planet, Healthy People are on such a scale and are so complex and extensive that it would be presumptuous to claim that they could be foreseen in full. Nevertheless, investing in the global environment, development and human health through multilateral agreements and actions, and building the wide coalitions that are necessary for transformative change, are certainly elements of an effective path to holistically addressing these transboundary challenges. The theme of Healthy Planet, Healthy People embodies this integrated approach to the contemporary environment and to addressing the socioeconomic and health challenges faced by current and future generations wanting a sustainable planet for themselves, their children and for all life on Earth.