THE EARTH IS

BURNED OUT

planet earth's health / burnout crisis
planet             burnout            

Imagine if the Earth were a human being. When you look at all the challenges and environmental issues it's faced in recent years - in other words, its symptoms - it's clear that our planet is suffering from burnout.

Stress, lowered immunity, high blood pressure, insomnia. These are all common symptoms for patients with burnout. And when you look at our planet, you see the same symptoms - just in a different form. Excess CO2 in the atmosphere, increased pandemics, a rise in volcano eruptions, and disruptions in animal's sleep cycles.

The world is showing symptoms of burnout.
And the best treatment for that is rest.

That's why we turned to specialists to write up a doctor's note that asks companies to let the Earth off its regular duties and give it some time to rest. Companies that join the cause will be showing everyone that they support the 10 universal principles in the UN Global Compact, and that they commit to following them in their day-to-day operations to help the planet recover.

As you explore the website, you'll see the exams that verify the diagnosis, the doctor's note, and all the research behind the project.

SEE THE EXAMS

  • Dr. Carlos Nobre
  • Senior Researcher
  • Institute for Advanced Studies
  • USP
  • Dr. Paulo Saldiva
  • Full Professor
  • Department of Pathology
  • FMUSP
Dr. Carlos Nobre's Bio

One of the nation's most renowned climatologists, and one of the best-known Brazilian scientists worldwide, having received his bachelor's degree in electronic engineering from the Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA) in 1974 and a PhD in meteorology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1983. He was one of the authors of the fourth IPCC report, which was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (2007). Dr. Nobre served as a researcher at the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA) and the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), and has played major roles in the management and coordination of research and scientific policy. General coordinator of the Center for Weather Forecast and Climate Studies (CPTEC-INPE) and the creator of the Center for Earth System Science (CCST-INPE) and the National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alerts (CEMADEN-MCTI). He was the head scientist on the Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA), a member of the UN Secretary-General Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) for Global Sustainability, and has been the president of the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) and national secretary for R&D Policies at the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. He is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, the World Academy of Sciences and a foreign associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society. Dr. Nobre has collaborated on several IPCC reports and received numerous awards in Brazil and abroad. Currently, he is a senior scientist at the University of São Paulo’s Institute for Advanced Studies and co-chair of the Science Panel for the Amazon (www.sp-amazon.org), which has produced the most rigorous scientific assessment yet of the Amazon and pointed the way forward to a sustainable future. He is a champion of the Amazonia 4.0 Project (www.amazonia4.org), which seeks to demonstrate the viability of a new bioeconomy with the Amazon’s forests intact and its rivers flowing, embracing scientific and technological advances as well as the knowledge of Indigenous peoples and local communities.

Dr. Paulo Saldiva's Bio

Full professor of pathology at the University of São Paulo Medical School (FMUSP). For over 35 years, he has researched the health impacts of air pollution, including experimental, epidemiological, and clinical studies. More recently, he has studied the effects of climate change and forest fires on human health. Dr. Saldiva pioneered minimally invasive autopsies during the Covid-19 pandemic. He is a member of Brazil’s National Academy of Medicine and the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, recently nominated to The World Academy of Sciences. He directed the Institute of Advanced Study (IEA-USP), is the president of the FMUSP Research Committee, serves as a specialist on climate and health on the scientific committee of the Meteorological Organization, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Scientific Committee, the WHO Air Quality Committee, and the International Agency for Research (IARC)’s panel on the carcinogenicity of air pollution. For 10 years, he served on a scientific committee at the Harvard School of Public Health’s Environmental Health Department. Dr. Saldiva is a member of working groups on urban health at the International Academy Partnership and the International Science Council; the Scientific Committee on Urban Health and Wellbeing Program at China’s Academy of Sciences; and the Scientific Committee at the Montpellier Advanced Knowledge Institute on Transitions. He currently helps run the São Paulo Research Foundation. Recipient of the Anchieta Medal (São Paulo City Council), the National Order of Scientific Merit, and the Armando Salles de Oliveira Medal.

THE PEOPLE
BEHIND THE NOTE

studies collection

The first step was to analyze our planet's symptoms. We collected an array of articles and scientific studies that demonstrate every environmental issue the Earth is dealing with. During this stage of the research, we had help from activist and environmental manager Sidney Marcelino Leite.

Then it came time to correlate the Earth's symptoms to those of a human being. Each environmental problem the planet is dealing with can easily be linked to a problem that patients with burnout experience. That allowed us to arrive at the symbolic diagnosis that the Earth is burned out.

Throughout the research process, and in order to arrive at our diagnosis, we got help from two specialists: climate scientist Dr. Carlos Nobre and pathologist Dr. Paulo Saldiva.

The solution for the Earth’s problems is the same treatment recommended for patients with burnout: rest. That’s why we came up with a symbolic doctor’s note, signed by both doctors, requesting the immediate suspension of activities on Earth. We sent the note to several companies, asking that they sign the Global Compact and give the planet some time to recover.

critical limit

planet earth

critical limit

Global compact
and it's role

information about
the global compact

signatoire's duties

Launched in 2000 by then-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, the Global Compact is a call for companies around the world to align their operations and strategies with the Ten Universal Principles in the areas of Human Rights, Labor, Environment and Anti-Corruption and to develop actions that contribute to addressing society's challenges.

Today, it is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world, with more than 25,000 participants, including companies and organizations, distributed across more than 67 local networks, with coverage and engagement on all continents.

Those who join the Global Compact also assume the responsibility of contributing to the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Bound for
cop30

Belém, Pará
Brazil

nov 10th

2025 goal

The “Bound for COP 30” Pact is an ambitious program with initiatives designed to move companies toward the United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held in Belém in 2025. The program already includes 250 companies engaged in existing initiatives which have signed onto the Climate Action Platform, which addresses the climate agenda in tandem with those of water rights, human rights, governance, and communications.

The Global Compact aims to have 600 companies mobilized to tackle climate change in Brazil by 2025, as well as to scale up its work and the goals to which companies are committed, in line with SDG 13 (Climate Action), especially the existing programs More Water, Goal Net Zero, Circular Connection, and Amazonian Impact.

pactoglobal.org.br

cop30.pactoglobal.org.br

go back

Registration
Form

info

  • Patient
  • age
  • weight
  • Sex
  • Health plan
  • Planet Earth
  • 4.5 Billions years
  • 5.972 x 10^24 kg
  • Unidentified
  • None
  • Start of complaints
  • scheduled return
  • >60 years
  • Imminent

Medical Certificate

To Whom it May Concern:

We hereby attest that Planet Earth is not fit to work, as it is experiencing symptoms of burnout.

We recommend that it be given time off from its activities in order to recover.

In the absence of rest, the following symptoms will become more frequent and severe: stress, insomnia, arrhythmia, lowered immunity, high blood pressure, and fibromyalgia, among others.

signature
  • Issued
  • Valid for
  • Description
  • release day
  • Indeterminate
  • The patient has been complaining
    about the identified symptoms year
    after year, but has not shown any
    improvement due to the constant
    abuse by his employers.

Sign the Global Compact and
give Planet Earth the rest it needs.

see below the exams
proving the diagnosis

  • LOGIN

  • PASSAWORD

  • user identified

Available
Exams

if you have any doubts
please refer to a professional.

  • EXCESS green house gases cortisol test
  • wildfire ocurrences endoscopy
  • insomnia tractography
  • rainfall arrythmia electrocardiogram
  • zoonotic disease spread leukocytes count
  • desertification scalp biopsy
  • reduced migrations muscle biopsy
  • high blood pressure Doppler echocardiography

Select exam

exames

TREATING
O BURNOUT

Drastic reduction in greenhouse gases

The foremost way to combat excess CO₂ is to reduce emissions from human sources, such as fossil fuels. Wildfires also directly contribute to the emission of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases, and so reducing such events is likewise crucial.

Investments in nature-based solutions

Reforestation, mangrove restoration, and other natural solutions help capture and store atmospheric CO₂ and preserve wildlife corridors for the benefit of flora and fauna. Restoring degraded ecosystems may reduce their vulnerability to wildfires, as well as help regulate the water cycle, both proven strategies against desertification.

Protection of legal reserves and strengthening of environmental policies

Protected, well-managed lands are less susceptible to illegal or uncontrolled wildfires. It is also crucially important to ensure connectivity between protected regions, allowing species to migrate as they would naturally.

Promotion of policies for a circular economy

Reducing excess use of water and soil resources may help avoid ecosystem degradation.

Soil regeneration and sustainable food production

Regenerative agricultural practices that respect nearby ecosystems may boost carbon capture by the soil and preserve migratory routes. Practices such as agroforestry and crop rotation can revitalize exhausted soil, prevent desertification, improve water retention in the soil, and positively influence water cycles.

Aligning climate goals with science

Understanding and mitigating climate change is essential to restoring healthy precipitation patterns.

medical receipt

All these tests together prove Earth is experiencing burnout, a serious problem, but one with a solution.

Click to learn about some of the business-focused initiatives the UN Global Compact supports.

to implement these solutions
and find the cure, sign the global compact.

Research

  • global
    issue
  • Our research cross-referenced data, studies, and scientific articles from across the world. We wanted to show that this crisis isn't local, it's a global diagnosis.
  • global
    symptoms
  • Each symptom was based on an environmental problem described in scientific research or demonstrated by official data. We created symbolic exams to represent each of the symptoms. Download the full report to find out more about our methodology.

download the research

Treatment

  • The treatment for Earth Burnout starts with rest. But it also includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting the circular economy, investing in nature-based solutions, aligning climate goals with science, protecting demarcated lands, and many other sustainable policies.

    By signing the Global Compact, your company is committing to be part of this treatment and helping the planet recover.
  • healing
    process

Sign the global compact