Earth Brain Health Commission calls for mental health integration in climate policy

The Earth Brain Health Commission, an international group of over 20 experts, has released its inaugural report calling for mental health to be integrated into environmental, climate, and urban development policies. Published in Nature Mental Health, the report advocates that no major environmental intervention should be designed or evaluated without assessing its potential impact on mental health over the next decade.

The commission identifies several environmental factors linked to increased risks of anxiety, depression, trauma-related disorders, and cognitive decline. These include extreme weather events, air and noise pollution, biodiversity loss, urban stressors, and social inequality. These factors often overlap, affecting specific populations through biological and social pathways from prenatal stages through old age.

Cornelius Gross, Head of EMBL Rome and a report author, stated that challenging physical and social environments are critical triggers for common mental illnesses, often driven by climate-related changes and population displacement. The report aims to establish steps to protect vulnerable populations and understand how environmental exposures affect human biology.