Environmental change is not only a challenge for ecosystems and physical safety. It can also place pressure on the biological, psychological and social foundations of mental health, according to an analysis published in Nature Mental Health.
The Earth–Brain–Health Commission describes a broad set of overlapping pressures, including climate extremes, pollution, biodiversity loss, urban stressors, displacement and widening social inequality. These pressures may act through both sudden events and longer-term exposure, affecting stress regulation, neurodevelopment, emotional wellbeing and social cohesion.
Mental-health effects are shaped by combined pressures
The analysis links environmental pressures with increased risks of anxiety, depression, trauma-related disorders and cognitive decline. However, the evidence does not establish that any single environmental factor directly causes these outcomes. The Commission says risks often arise through cumulative and interacting exposures, with causal pathways still incompletely understood.
Environmental change can affect people across the life course, from prenatal development through older age. Mental health is also described as part of resilience: it influences daily functioning, education, productivity and communities’ ability to respond to disruption.
The burden is not shared equally
Children, older adults, displaced populations, Indigenous communities and socially or economically disadvantaged groups may face greater exposure and fewer resources for adaptation. The Commission identifies the highest burden in low- and middle-income countries, Small Island Developing States and other marginalized populations.
This uneven impact is one reason the analysis calls for equity to be built into environmental resilience and mental-health planning, rather than treating mental health as a secondary consequence after an extreme event.
What the Commission recommends
The analysis says climate, environmental, urban, disaster and health systems are rarely aligned. Environmental monitoring is also seldom connected with mental-health data. To close those gaps, it recommends:
- Including mental-health indicators in climate, environmental, urban and disaster policies.
- Developing interoperable, privacy-preserving systems that can connect environmental, mental-health and biological information.
- Preparing for extreme and compound events with continuity of care, community support and disability-inclusive planning.
- Prioritizing children, older adults, displaced people, Indigenous communities and disadvantaged groups in adaptation efforts.
- Evaluating measures such as cleaner air, green and blue spaces, cooling, noise reduction and safer housing for their possible mental-health benefits.
- Shifting from mainly reactive treatment toward prevention across the life course.
The Commission also proposes measuring wellbeing and planetary health alongside economic indicators such as gross domestic product, so that societal progress reflects the conditions people need to remain healthy and resilient.
Promising approaches still need stronger evidence
Environmental and urban interventions may offer co-benefits for mental health, but the evidence is methodologically mixed. The analysis notes that a 2026 umbrella review found modest, consistent improvements in mental-health outcomes from climate-related and nature-based interventions, while also reporting variation in effect sizes and a need for higher-quality research.
Important gaps remain. Evidence strength differs across environmental exposures and populations, high-risk groups are underrepresented, and available data systems are fragmented. Digital tools may help with assessment and evaluation, but they also raise concerns about privacy, bias and representativeness.
A shift toward prevention and preparedness
The central message is that mental health should be considered before, during and after environmental disruption. That means planning for continuity of care, strengthening community support and testing whether changes to air quality, heat protection, housing, noise and access to natural spaces improve wellbeing.
The Commission’s approach does not present environmental action as a substitute for mental-health care. Instead, it frames healthier environments and better-prepared systems as part of a broader prevention strategy—one that recognizes both the uncertainty in current evidence and the unequal conditions in which environmental risks are experienced.
AI tools were used to assist with the preparation of this article.
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