The Possibilities of Health Policy in an Eco-welfare State?

Abstract

Climate change, in its scale and unpredictability, is one of the greatest threats to the health of both human and the Earth. It is also a challenge to the political system of the welfare state, as traditionally people’s welfare and health has been interlinked to economic growth. Economic growth in turn is producing even more social and ecological problems that require political attention. This review discusses how the goals of the so-called eco-welfare state and public health can be reconciled as well as the thus far unstudied challenges there might be. For example, what will happen to equity and justice in health and health services if we strive away from economic growth? And how ecological and social sustainability can be integrated into public health and health policy?