Editing IPCC:AR6/WGII/Chapter-7 (section)

=== 7.1.4 Interpretation of ‘Health and Well-Being’ Used in This Chapter ===

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Assessing the links between human health, well-being and climate change is a new task for AR6, reflecting a broad perspective on health that increasingly acknowledges the importance of well-being and its interactions with individual and population health. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ ( [[#WHO--1946|WHO, 1946]] ). Although this chapter assesses physical health, mental health and general well-being separately, they are inter-connected; any type of health problem can reduce overall well-being and vice versa. For example, a child receiving inadequate nutrition may not be sick but is experiencing a clear threat to well-being that has implications for future physical and mental health.

There is no consensus definition of well-being, but it is generally agreed that it includes a predominance of positive emotions and moods (e.g., happiness) compared with extreme negative emotions (e.g., anxiety), satisfaction with life, a sense of meaning and positive functioning, including the capacity for unimpaired cognitive functioning and economic productivity ( [[#Diener--2015|Diener and Tay, 2015]] ; [[#Piekałkiewicz--2017|Piekałkiewicz, 2017]] ). A capabilities approach ( [[#Sen--2001|Sen, 2001]] ) focuses on the opportunity for people to achieve their goals in life ( [[#Vik--2018|Vik and Carlquist, 2018]] ) or the ability to take part in society in a meaningful way, and is reflected in personal freedoms, human agency, self-efficacy, ability to self-actualise, dignity and relatedness to others ( [[#Markussen--2018|Markussen et al., 2018]] ). An indigenous perspective on well-being is broad and typically incorporates a healthy relationship with the natural world ( [[#Sangha--2018|Sangha et al., 2018]] ); emotional and mental health have also been linked to a strong cultural identity ( [[#Butler--2019|Butler et al., 2019]] ; [[#Dockery--2020|Dockery, 2020]] ). ‘Health’ itself is sometimes described as including relationships between humans and nature as well as links to community and culture ( [[#Donatuto--2020|Donatuto et al., 2020]] ; [[#Dudgeon--2017|Dudgeon et al., 2017]] ).

Subjective well-being is consistently associated with personal indicators such as higher income, greater economic productivity, better physical health ( [[#Diener--2015|Diener and Tay, 2015]] ; [[#Delhey--2016|Delhey and Dragolov, 2016]] ; [[#De%20Neve--2013|De Neve et al., 2013]] ) and environmental health, and it is reflected in societal indicators such as social cohesion and equality ( [[#Delhey--2016|Delhey and Dragolov, 2016]] ). In a global survey of over 1 million people taken between 2004 and 2008 via the Gallup World Poll, annual income and access to food were strong predictors of subjective well-being and a healthy environment. In particular, access to clean water was important even when household income was controlled ( [[#Diener--2015|Diener and Tay, 2015]] ). Access to green spaces was also closely associated with well-being ( ''high confidence'' ) ( [[#Lovell--2018|Lovell et al., 2018]] ; [[#Yuan--2018|Yuan et al., 2018]] ).

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