Promoting Equitable Human and Planetary Health Co-Benefits: An Opportunity for U.S. Leadership

Climate change is a public health emergency, and many communities have called on policymakers to address its far-reaching consequences on human and planetary health. As research shows, the hierarchical ordering of people and other living beings as more or less worthy of protection has contributed to environmental degradation and the current state of the climate crisis, which impact everyone regardless of hierarchical position. Several climate solutions have health co-benefits that can promote collective well-being when designed and implemented equitably. The United States has an opportunity to become a global leader by advancing transformative policies that harness the potential of these human-and-planet co-benefit solutions. Active (human-powered) transportation and use of green spaces represent two co-benefit solutions that show promise for equitably addressing public and planetary health. Policymakers are encouraged to work alongside communities to identify, develop, and implement co-benefit solutions that meet the collective needs of local populations while benefiting public and planetary health more broadly.