Abstract
Today we live in the Anthropocene, a new epoch characterized by the profound disturbances that industrial societies have caused in the Earth’s natural systems, resulting in an unprecedented existential threat to humans and most species. Planetary Health has emerged as a new interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach focused on understanding and addressing the impacts of human activities on natural systems and their consequences for human health and that of other species. Planetary Health adopts approaches from the sciences of complex systems to analyze the multiple interactions between social systems and natural systems and propose solutions to preserve the health of humans and other species within the sustainable limits of the Earth. Ethics is central to Planetary Health as it involves a strong focus on identifying the winners and losers from global environmental change and the need to protect the most vulnerable and future generations. Likewise, consistent with the timescale of the current transgression of planetary boundaries, there is a unique sense of urgency in Planetary Health to implement transformative mitigation and adaptation strategies.
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Antó, J.M., Tonne, C. (2023). Planetary Health: From Concept to Action. In: Raviglione, M.C.B., Tediosi, F., Villa, S., Casamitjana, N., Plasència, A. (eds) Global Health Essentials. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33851-9_77
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