The Meaning of Do No Harm in a Planetary Health Crisis

A statement by Dr. Courtney Howard, Board President of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), arguing that the medical principle of "Do No Harm" must be applied to planetary health. The document criticizes attempts by the fossil fuel industry to use the COVID-19 pandemic as a justification to roll back climate policies and calls for public stimulus funds to be used for a healthy, ecological recovery rather than bailing out fossil fuel corporations.

• The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) sent a confidential memo to the federal Cabinet in late March 2020 requesting the suspension of regulations protecting human and ecological health and the delay or cancellation of climate change policies under the guise of a "public health response" to the pandemic.
• CAPE rejects CAPP's use of the "do no harm" principle to justify postponing climate measures, noting that the WHO and Lancet identify climate change as the 21st century's biggest health threat and that Canada ranked 170th out of 180 nations for sustainability in a UNICEF-WHO-Lancet report.
• The author argues that the COVID-19 pandemic is a zoonotic event resulting from a lack of attention to the interface between humans, animals, and disease vectors, serving as a warning that failing to account for nature endangers human health.
• In a planetary health context, "Do No Harm" is defined as maintaining or strengthening environmental health policies, aligning with the national net zero by 2050 commitment, and ensuring public stimulus funds support a healthy recovery rather than fossil fuel corporations.
• The author notes positive federal government actions, including a $750 million emission-reduction fund focused on methane and $1.7 billion for cleaning up orphan wells in British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, which is expected to maintain 5,200 jobs in Alberta.

APA

Howard, C. (2020). The Meaning of Do No Harm in a Planetary Health Crisis. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. https://cape.ca/the-meaning-of-do-no-harm-in-a-planetary-health-crisis/

Chicago

Howard, Courtney. The Meaning of Do No Harm in a Planetary Health Crisis. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, 2020. https://cape.ca/the-meaning-of-do-no-harm-in-a-planetary-health-crisis/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Howard |first1=Courtney |title=The Meaning of Do No Harm in a Planetary Health Crisis |publisher=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |date=17 April 2020 |url=https://cape.ca/the-meaning-of-do-no-harm-in-a-planetary-health-crisis/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{howard2020meaning, author = {Howard, Courtney}, title = {{The Meaning of Do No Harm in a Planetary Health Crisis}}, publisher = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://cape.ca/the-meaning-of-do-no-harm-in-a-planetary-health-crisis/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }