Planetary Health Forum ’23
Towards health within planetary boundaries
Climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution are widely recognized as planetary crises with massive health impacts. Although recommendations for action are available, their implementation is still lacking: there is a shortage of effective political measures at all levels to advance the necessary socio-ecological transformation and protect health within planetary boundaries – today as well as for future generations. The Planetary Health Forum was launched to address this gap and to drive concrete and effective actions in policy and practice.
Project goals
As the first conference dedicated to planetary health, the Planetary Health Forum 2023 brought together experts and decision-makers from the fields of health, environmental, and climate protection — spanning politics, practice, business, academia, and civil society. The forum’s stated goal was to create a space for developing new narratives about a future that ensures health within planetary boundaries and to facilitate discussions on effective measures and policies. Additionally, the forum provided a platform to critically examine existing coordination mechanisms and policy frameworks, while strengthening cooperation among stakeholders.
Realisation
The Planetary Health Forum took place on November 30 – December 1, 2023, at the Umweltforum in Berlin and additionally was livestreamed. Over two days, approximately 1,000 registered participants developed and discussed new ideas, measures, and policies for a health and wellbeing within planetary boundaries. A total of 24 keynote and panel speakers enriched the event with their perspectives. Notable speakers included climate activist Luisa Neubauer, transformation researcher Maja Göpel, climate scientist Stefan Rahmstorf, the President of the German Medical Association Klaus Reinhard, and Parliamentary State Secretary Bettina Hoffmann from the Federal Ministry for the Environment.
The key themes of the PHF23 included:
- Planetary Boundaries
- Wellbeing Economy
- Equity, Environment and Health
- Indigenous Perspectives
- Knowledge Translation
- Freedoms of Future Generations
- Social-ecological, democratic Transformation
- Fossility
- Public Health, One Health, Eco Health, Planetary Health
To ensure lasting impact, the forum was embedded in pre- and post-conference activities focused on networking, co-creating effective solutions, and discussing collaboratively developed results. During the forum, a “Memorandum for Health and Wellbeing within Planetary Boundaries (german)” was drafted with participants. This transformative document aims to initiate institutional change and was be presented to the conference patrons in October 2024.
Further information and sources
Website of the Planetary Health Forums ’23
Memorandum for Health and Wellbeing within Planetary Boundaries
Record day 1
Record day 2
Project duration
April 2023 — February 2024
Contact person
Projectcoordination
Funded by
The main sponsor of the project was the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU). The patronage was assumed by the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Costumer Protection. The main partners were the Mercator Foundation, the BKK Dachverband und BKK Green Health. Many other partners also provided support.