The winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential election will shape environmental policy that could have a significant impact on human health around the world, according to a September 29, 2020 commentary in The Lancet.
The piece, co-authored by Samuel Myers, principal research scientist, planetary health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, explored the sharp differences between President Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, especially when it comes to climate change. The current administration has displayed hostility to environmental stewardship, embraced an antiregulatory agenda, and has called climate change a hoax, the authors wrote. Biden, meanwhile, has stronger environmental positions and has made clean energy and environmental justice part of his election platform.
“The health implications of promoting versus obstructing climate action will be felt worldwide and across future generations,” the authors wrote.
Read The Lancet commentary: Planetary health and the 2020 US election