The new 2025 Global Report from The Lancet Countdown offers a sobering look at climate impacts, finding that urgent climate action is needed to protect the planet and our health.

But it also lays out a clear path forward; one in which government action is crucial to mitigate and adapt to the worst impacts of a changing climate, and in which we each have the power to make change.  

• Public interest and engagement with health and climate change is at a record high, according to search data 
• Local action is shaping a healthier future for people and the planet 
• We can each make important changes that make a difference every time we sit down to eat. 

The Lancet Countdown is an international research collaboration bringing together more than 300 health professionals, scientists, and researchers from around the world. By monitoring data and advocating for policy change, they work to ensure health is at the centre of decision-makers’ understanding and response to climate change. 

Each year, the Lancet Countdown releases a report outlining worldwide trends in climate and their impact on human health. The report also shares recommendations around the most impactful actions that can be taken to protect us from the impacts of climate change in the future. 

Part of the report looks at the impact of our food system on both our personal health and the health of the planet.  

By shifting to more plant-based foods and reducing our consumption of animal products, particularly those with the highest climate impacts and the most negative climate outcomes like red meat and dairy, the Lancet Countdown report shows we can become a healthier population and planet. 

The health of our planet directly and closely impacts the health of the individuals who live on it. The report focusses on the relationship between human health and climate change. 

This is an issue that impacts everyone, but even moreso the most vulnerable people. The impacts of climate change disproportionately affect low HDI or Human Development Index, countries (countries with shorter average lifespans, lower education levels, and lower national income per capita) and less wealthy populations. 

Transitioning to a more plant-forward food system means reducing emissions, mitigating climate change, and improving air and water quality, which have widespread impacts on public health.  

The report shares that the health threats of climate change have reached concerning, unprecedented levels, leading to millions of preventable deaths each year. 

Between 2020 and 2024, an average of 84% of heat wave days people faced each year would not have occurred without climate change. Heat wave days can be especially dangerous and even fatal to people who are unable to access cool shelter, with massive widespread impacts in warmer countries close to the equator.  

Heat-related mortality rates have risen by 63% since the 1990s. The annual average of heat-related deaths in 2012-2021 was more than half a million. 

Hotter, drier conditions have led to an increase in wildfires, including unprecedented wildfire-driven tree losses in Canada. Sadly, an estimated 154,000 deaths were caused by wildfire smoke exposure in 2024. 

Extreme weather events caused at least another 16,000 deaths in 2024. More than 3,700 of those deaths were from 26 of the most impactful extreme weather events which were found to have been made more likely or more intense by human-caused climate change. 

Many sources of greenhouse gas emissions, including animal agriculture, also contribute to air pollution. Breathing in polluted air increases the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and other health problems. 

In addition, 123.7 million more people faced moderate or severe food insecurity associated with more droughts and heat waves in 2023 compared to 1981-2010. Food insecurity increases the risk of all forms of malnutrition. 

Producing foods that come from animals like meat, dairy, and eggs uses more resources than their plant-based counterparts. That’s because animals consume large amounts of plant calories to live and require space for growing feed crops and for raising and slaughtering the animals. By contrast, plant-based foods can be consumed by humans directly to meet our nutrient needs. 

The vast majority of farmed animals on earth are farmed through intensive animal agriculture (also known as industrial animal agriculture or factory farming) to meet the high demand for animal products. Industrial animal agriculture poses particular concerns around animal welfare, environmental impacts such as pollution and feed production, and public health risks such as antibiotic resistance and zoonotic disease spread. 

According to the Lancet Countdown report, food systems are responsible for up to one third of all greenhouse gas emissions, with farmed animals being the primary source. 55% of food emissions come from producing red meat and dairy.  

“As food systems become increasingly strained by environmental changes … dietary shifts towards less polluting, more resource-efficient foods and food production systems will be needed.” – 2025 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change, page 28 

In addition to being healthier for the environment, a large body of research shows plant-based foods have better health outcomes for our bodies.  

There is a broad consensus among health professionals and nutrition experts that we should be eating more plant-based, whole foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and seeds, while reducing intake of red and processed meats. 

Find tasty ways to incorporate more plant ingredients into your diet with PlantUniversity’s recipe library:

The report notes that 1.9 million deaths were attributable to excessive red meat and dairy intake in 2022. The largest proportional increase in attributable deaths came from high meat consumption, with the most impacts from diet in high HDI countries.

“Red and processed meats are risk factors for non-communicable diseases, and excessive intake of animal-source foods also contributes to weight-related morbidity and mortality.” – 2025 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change, page 28 

Another detailed and reliable resource from the world-leading medical journal, The Lancet, is the EAT-Lancet commission. This Commission looks at healthy, sustainable, and just food systems, and presents new evidence-based insights on nutrition and human health.  

Stay tuned for more information about the EAT-Lancet Commission and how we can make meaningful change through our food systems on a global, local, and individual level!