Planetary Health Initiative
The establishment of the Planetary Health initiative comes in recognition of the ongoing impacts of human-induced global environmental change on human health outcomes.
The Planetary Health Alliance defines planetary health as “…a solutions-oriented, transdisciplinary field and social movement focused on analyzing and addressing the impacts of human disruptions to Earth’s natural systems on human health and all life on Earth”.
The Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on planetary health report states that "our societies face clear and potent dangers that require urgent and transformative actions to protect present and future generations…".
The George Institute’s Planetary Health Initiative seeks to embody this ethos, by seeking to ensure that evidence informs the development and implementation of social, economic, and environmental policies to address and reverse the ongoing impacts of ecological change on human health and equity and improve planetary health outcomes. The Initiative is underpinned by work across four key areas:
- Conducting world class research on the intersection between environmental factors and human health outcomes
- Advocating for the rapid decarbonisation of global systems and the incorporation of health outcomes into global environmental change policy
- Collaborating with like-minded stakeholders including governments, industry, public health and community organisations, and placing at the heart of our work Traditional Knowledges of First Nations and Tribal Peoples, and the voices of other communities experiencing marginalisation
- Accelerating internal decarbonisation activities that support a net zero future using the findings of a sustainability audit, and sharing what we learn with other relevant health and medical research stakeholders
