Humanity is running an ecological deficit. Stabilisation without transformation is a slow-motion crisis that threatens both planetary and human health. Moving from overshoot economies to well-being societies requires political will, systemic reform and investment in health as a shared resource Health as a political choice: From overshoot to well-being societies
T his year, Earth Overshoot Day fell on 24 July 2025 – the date by which humanity had exhausted the ecological resources the planet can regenerate in the entire year. According to the Global Footprint Network, we are using nature 80% faster than ecosystems can regenerate – equivalent to 1.8 Earths. The cumulative ‘ecological debt’ now equals roughly 22 years of Earth’s full biological productivity – damage that accumulates even if the date appears stable from year to year. That steadiness should alarm rather than reassure: flat lines in a context of continued ecological debt mean the underlying risks grow each year. We are not on the right track. Stabilisation without structural change is a slow-motion crisis. The challenge of living within planetary boundaries while ensuring
social justice is elegantly framed by Kate Raworth’s ‘doughnut’ model: a safe, just space for humanity bounded by an ecological ceiling (planetary boundaries) and a social foundation (life’s essentials, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals). Economies should be designed to meet everyone’s needs without breaching Earth’s limits. Translating that into action requires industrial-policy scale ambition. The final report of the World Health Organization Council on the Economics of Health for All, chaired by Mariana Mazzucato, calls for reframing health from a cost to an investment, governing innovation for the common good, building dynamic public-sector capabilities, and aligning finance and measurement with human and planetary well-being. This is not ‘market fixing’ but ‘market shaping’ for Health for All.
Rüdiger Krech, director, Environment, Climate Change, Migration and One Health, a.i.,
World Health Organization
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Health: A Political Choice – The Future of Health in a Fractured World
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