Project Syndicate: The Health Costs of Environmental Change
Shaukat Aziz, prime minister of Pakistan from 2004 to 2007

“…Up to a quarter of the world’s disease burden is associated with human-caused environmental factors, the [Emerging Markets Symposium at the University of Oxford’s Green Templeton College] found. … Repairing the Earth’s natural systems, and restoring the health of the planet’s most vulnerable populations, is possible. But success will require radical changes in environmental, economic, and social policies. … Rigorous environmental stewardship is compatible with economic growth, social progress, and political stability. This is true for even the poorest countries that pursue environmentally sound policies that promote healthy, non-destructive models of development. … The [Paris] agreement’s remaining signatories must work collectively to solve the world’s environmental challenges, paying close attention to the health costs of inaction…” (7/14).