Climate Justice and Health: Reconnecting Human, Ecological, and Planetary Well-Being

Journal of Climate Justice
An International Peer-Reviewed Journal in Environmental Science
Volume 1, Issue 1, 2026
Pages: 15–28
Online ISSN: 3139-8529

Manoj Kurian
Director, Commission of the Churches on Health and Healing
World Council of Churches, Geneva, Switzerland

Gracia Violeta Ross
Social Anthropologist and HIV Advocate
World Council of Churches, Geneva, Switzerland

Corresponding Author: Manoj Kurian Manoj.Kurian@wcc-coe.org

Received: 5th May 2026
Published: July 2026

Key words

Climate justice, Planetary health, One Health, Ecological integrity, Health inequities, Structural injustice, Emerging infectious diseases, Antimicrobial resistance, Faith communities, Theology of oneness, New International Financial and Economic Architecture (NIFEA), Adaptation and resilience, Gender and climate vulnerability

Abstract

Climate justice is a public health imperative because human well-being is inseparable from ecological integrity, planetary stability, and social equity. Climate change already harms health through extreme temperatures, climate-related disasters, food insecurity, and shifting infectious disease patterns, with the greatest burdens falling on communities that have least contributed to the crisis. Drawing on concepts of ‘Planetary health’ and ‘One Health’, the article argues that biological, social, and spiritual interdependence links the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems, exposing the illusion that human flourishing cannot be separated from the rest of creation. It shows how structural injustice, colonial histories, gender inequality, and weak health systems produce vulnerability, turning climatic and ecological hazards into avoidable illness, displacement, trauma, and antimicrobial resistance. The article calls for transformative and systemic responses that integrate decarbonization, ecological restoration, public health, just economic and financial architectures, and community-based resilience, rather than relying on isolated technical fixes or individual behaviour change. Faith communities are highlighted as vital partners for this transformation, bringing moral vision, social trust, and practical engagement that can connect scientific insight with lived experience and sustain hope in a wounded world. Reconnecting human, ecological, and planetary well-being is presented as the necessary foundation for protecting life with justice amid climate disruption.