Sustainability and Health

Understanding and addressing the deep connections between health and the environment—to maintain and improve current and future health of those affected by pollution and climate change

Human influences on the environment continue to grow. Many of the resulting risks are continuously generating disease and injuries, impacting quality of life, reducing productivity, and weighing on health systems.1

The reduction of environmental pollution and advancements in hygiene have contributed significantly to the increase in human health and life expectancy over the last 150 years, particularly in high-income countries.2 But even today, contaminated water, food, and air remain major causes for suffering and death globally. Many of these problems are expected to be worsened by the ongoing climate change. Healthcare systems need to adapt significantly to a future in which gradual warming and extreme weather events will increase the risks to human health.

Climate change is linked to a number of health-related risks, including injuries caused by storms or flooding, the spreading of insect-borne infectious diseases, and the worsening of chronic respiratory, cardiovascular, and kidney disease.3 In addition, extreme weather events, gradual warming, and changes in humidity indirectly affect human health by disrupting healthcare delivery and endangering food security.4,5 Even in high income countries, the negative health effects of climate change will be more severe for disadvantaged populations, and this impact is expected to deepen existing gaps in health equity.6

There is an opportunity for more countries to develop national climate adaptation plans with a health focus, and for both the public and private sector to invest more in health-related adaptation financing.7 The challenges related to adaptation will be even greater for low- and middle-income countries, which are already facing the largest health burden today. Their current response is often impaired by less robust healthcare systems, and they have limited resources to build long-term resilience.8

Understanding the intersection of climate change mitigation and human health is important for effective action in both areas. Healthcare systems are major emitters of carbon dioxide and other environmental pollutants.9  Mitigation of further environmental and climate change will thus have to involve efforts to reduce the footprint of healthcare providers and healthcare industries around the world. At the same time, there is significant potential for synergy between the advancement of human health and climate change mitigation. The concept of a “planetary health diet” illustrates this as it captures both promoting individual health via better nutrition and reduced environmental pollution from a transformation of food production.10

23%

of all global deaths

could be prevented through healthier environments11

250K

additional deaths

per year expected to be caused by climate change between 2030 and 205012

5–10%

of emissions of greenhouse gases

and other air pollutants are caused by healthcare systems13

Topics to explore

In collaboration with relevant stakeholders, the McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) is interested in exploring long-term questions such as:

  • How can key stakeholders ensure that the impact of pollution and climate change on health becomes a prioritized topic on the global sustainability and public health agendas?
  • How can data and technology be leveraged to prevent, predict, and prepare for the health implications of gradual warming, changes in humidity, and extreme weather events?
  • How can healthcare systems transform to be forerunners and catalyzers for sustainability and preparedness for the challenges related to climate change?

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1. “Healthy environments for healthier populations: Why do they matter, and what can we do?,” World Health Organization, 2019
2. E Carnell, et al, “Modelling public health improvements as a result of air pollution control policies in the UK over four decades—1970 to 2010,” Environmental Research Letters, 2019; “Ten Great Public Health Achievements—United States, 1900-1999,” MMWR Weekly, CDC, Apr 2, 1999
3. For more information, see “Climate change and health equity,” U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Aug 2021; Matthew A. Borg, Peng Bi, “The impact of climate change on kidney health,” Nature Reviews, Springer Nature, Oct 15, 2020; and Elisabeth Rataj, Katharina Kunzweiler, and Susan Garthus-Niegel
4. “Will the world’s breadbaskets become less reliable?,” McKinsey Global Institute, May 18, 2020
5. Climate risk and response: Physical hazards and socioeconomic impacts,” McKinsey Global Institute, Jan 16, 2020
6. “Climate change and health equity,” U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Aug 2021
7. Marina Romanello, PhD, et al, “The 2021 report of the Lancet countdown on health and climate change: code red for a healthy future,” The Lancet, Elsevier, Oct 20, 2021
8. “Climate change and health,” World Health Organization, Oct 30, 2021
9. “Healthcare industry is a major source of harmful emissions,” Yale News, Yale University, Aug 2, 2019; “Healthcare pollution and public health damage in the United States: An update,” Health Affairs, Project Hope, Dec 2020
10. “The EAT-Lancet commission on food, planet, health,” The EAT-Lancet Commission, 2022
11. “Healthy environments for healthier populations: Why do they matter, and what can we do?,” World Health Organization, 2019
12. “Climate change and health,” World Health Organization, Oct 30, 2021
13. Mike Cummings, “Healthcare industry is a major source of harmful emissions,” Yale News, Yale University, Aug 2, 2019; Matthew J. Eckelman, et al, “Healthcare pollution and public health damage in the United States: An update,” Health Affairs, Project Hope, Dec 2020

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