092 Planetary Boundaries & Health with Mia Heide from WELA
Planetary boundaries, wellbeing & healthcare with Mia Heide (WELA)What does it actually mean for human health that we’ve now exceeded 7 out of 9 planetary boundaries – up from 6 out of 9 in 2023 – and how should healthcare systems respond? In this episode, we're joined by Mia Heide, engineer and researcher at WELA – Wellbeing Economy Lab, to unpack the latest science and what it implies for policy, practice, and care pathways. Sustainable Healthcare Podcast …We talk about:What the planetary boundaries framework is – and why it’s about hard limits, not “nice-to-have” goalsThe new 2025 assessment showing we’ve transgressed 7/9 boundaries, and what changed since 2023How to downscale planetary boundaries to a country level (e.g. Denmark) using different sharing principles – equal per capita, capacity to reduce, historical responsibility, and “grandfathering” Why some principles give wealthy countries like Denmark a negative carbon budget, and why “equal” is not the same as “fair”The concept of decent living standards – what’s the minimum energy and material footprint needed to secure basic human needs globally? Health impacts of specific boundaries once we overshoot them, including:Climate change: extreme weather, heat stress, displacement and food securityFreshwater change: water scarcity, sanitation breakdown, conflict riskNovel entities (PFAS, microplastics, synthetic chemicals): cancer risk, hormone disruption, fertility impacts – and why this is hugely under-discussed in public health The uncomfortable paradox: we need to meet basic needs and stay within limits – and every tonne of CO₂ still countsWhy healthcare decarbonisation must be seen in a two-way relationship:Healthcare activities impact planetary boundariesOvershooting those boundaries, in turn, undermines population health and health system resilienceWhere Mia still finds motivation and drive in 2025 – and why “a different world is possible” is not just a sloganAbout our guest – Mia Heide & WELAMia Heide is an engineer and researcher at WELA – Wellbeing Economy Lab, a Danish, independent think tank working for a wellbeing economy where societal progress is measured by the ability to create good lives for all within planetary boundaries – now and for future generations.Resources & links mentionedMia’s working paper (in Danish)“Trivsel inden for de planetære grænser” – WELA working paper on planetary boundaries, wellbeing and health👉 WELA publications page: https://www.wellbeingeconomylab.com/udgivelserDecent living standards & minimum energyMillward-Hopkins et al. (2020): “Providing decent living with minimum energy: A global scenario”👉 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378020307512Planetary boundaries & latest assessmentsRichardson et al. (2023) – updated assessment of the planetary boundaries (Stockholm Resilience Centre)Planetary Health Check 2025 – Executive Summary (global status update)👉 https://www.planetaryhealthcheck.org/wp-content/uploads/PlanetaryHealthCheck2025_ExecutiveSummary.pdfIf you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a colleague, rate the show, or suggest future guests – it really helps us bring more voices like Mia’s into the sustainable healthcare conversation.
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