Protecting our planet also means protecting our mental health.
A new report published in Nature Mental Health calls for mental health to become a central consideration in climate, environmental and urban policymaking. The Earth Brain Health Commission outlines eight concrete commitments to translate scientific evidence into action over the next decade.
How do climate change, air pollution and urban living conditions affect our mental health—and what action should policymakers take?
An international Commission of more than 20 experts has examined these questions and presents a ten-year action plan with eight concrete commitments in its new report in Nature Mental Health.
The Earth Brain Health Commission, chaired by Professor Gunter Schumann, brings together leading experts in neuroscience, psychiatry, epidemiology, climate and environmental science, public health and other disciplines from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Its central ambition is clear: Within ten years, no major environmental intervention should be planned or evaluated without considering its impact on mental health.
Environmental Change Is Also a Mental Health Challenge
The Commission highlights growing evidence that climate and weather extremes, air and noise pollution, urban stressors, biodiversity loss and social inequality are associated with increased risks of anxiety, depression, trauma-related disorders and cognitive decline.
These environmental exposures rarely occur in isolation. Instead, they often overlap and interact through biological, psychological and social pathways throughout the lifespan.
The impacts are also unequally distributed. Children, older adults, people with disabilities, displaced populations and communities in low- and middle-income countries frequently face greater environmental risks while having fewer resources to adapt.
Although important scientific uncertainties remain, particularly regarding causal pathways and geographical differences, the Commission argues that the tools needed to begin taking action already exist.
“Environmental change is not only an ecological or economic problem. It reaches the brain.”
— Professor Gunter Schumann, Chair of the Earth Brain Health Commission
From Research to Action: Eight Concrete Commitments
Rather than calling solely for further research, the Commission proposes practical measures to embed mental health into environmental decision-making.
Key recommendations include:
- Integrating mental health into policy: From 2027, climate plans, environmental impact assessments and urban policies should include mental health indicators.
- Connecting environmental and health data: Existing population cohorts should be enriched with environmental exposure data to improve understanding of risks.
- Strengthening early-warning systems: Heat and air-quality alerts should be linked to proactive mental health outreach.
- Ensuring responsible AI: AI-based risk prediction should undergo published fairness and validation audits before implementation.
- Creating healthier and more inclusive cities: Urban greening initiatives should be evaluated not only by environmental improvements but also by their effects on loneliness and social belonging.
- Promoting equitable research: At least 30% of the recommended research should be led by partners in low- and middle-income countries and affected communities.
- Rethinking measures of progress: Within five years, at least five countries should pilot wellbeing and planetary-health accounting alongside GDP.
- Establishing global coordination: An Earth–Brain–Health Research Fund and Global Observatory should be operational by 2028 to monitor progress and report annually.
Why Mental Health Must Become Part of Environmental Policy
The Commission emphasises that many of the measures capable of protecting mental health lie outside the traditional healthcare sector.
Urban planning, housing, transport, climate adaptation and environmental regulation all influence the conditions in which people live and, consequently, their mental wellbeing.
As Professor Jürg Luterbacher of Justus Liebig University Giessen, a member of the Commission and former Chief Scientist at the World Meteorological Organization, explains:
“Many of the measures that can protect mental health sit outside the health sector, in planning, housing, transport and environmental regulation.”
This highlights the need for closer collaboration between researchers, policymakers, urban planners and affected communities.
International Collaboration for a Healthier Future
The Earth Brain Health Commission brings together more than 20 international experts to connect scientific knowledge with practical policy solutions.
Its recommendations aim to support evidence-informed, equitable decisions that consider both environmental sustainability and human wellbeing.
Read More
Scientific publication:
The Earth Brain Health Commission Report
Nature Mental Health, 12 October 2026
https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-026-00737-y
Press release:
How a Changing Environment Is Reshaping Mental Health: International Commission Sets Out a Ten-Year Action Plan
