In case you missed it, the United Nations Environment Programme released report in July 2024 addressing how climate impacts global planetary health and wellbeing.
Entitled Navigating New Horizons, the report outlines eight insights about global health challenges. The report declares that the "triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity and nature loss, and pollution and waste" are key threats to human wellbeing.
This report makes clear that the rapid pace of climate change is taking a toll on populations around the world. Extreme weather is disrupting local governments, education, economies, and well-being.
The authors note:
It has become clear that the world is facing a different context than it faced even ten years ago. Some of the issues are the same, but the rapid rate of change combined with technological developments, more frequent and devastating disasters and an increasingly turbulent geopolitical landscape, has resulted in a new operating context, where any country can be thrown off course more easily and more often.
In addition to highlighting the impact of more frequent and devastating disasters, the July U.N. report makes clear that eco-anxiety is "an emerging crisis hidden in plain sight." All the factors listed above mean that young people are worried about the future we are leaving them. The call to action is clear -- fast global action on climate solutions and a re-thinking of community and connection as we lean into a positive vision for the future.
Three big takeaways of the report are:
We must Lean into our Interconnectedness
Think Like An Awesome Ancestor & Adopt Longterm Thinking
Don't Give Up: Bet on "Human Ingenuity that Can Be Leveraged in the Spirit of Discovery"
The report provides further proof of the need for organizations likeOneGreenThing. We created this community and organization to give children and young people, not only a sense of urgency, but also empowerment and hope.
We CAN create a greener, healthier more just future.
Read the report in its entirety here.
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Heather White is the founder of OneGreenThing. She's a Philanthropist-Wonk and is the author of Eco-Anxiety: Saving Our Sanity, Our Kids, and Our Future. Heather writes about the impacts of the climate crisis on mental health, sustainable living, and climate action.
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