In this short article we introduce the concept of sustainable development and its significance to child health using climate change as an example. Environmental issues, in the long term, are as important to children's health as smoking, accidents, and poor parenting are in the short term, yet have hitherto had little publicity or discussion within paediatric circles.

What is happening to children's health in the world? In the developed world cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and dental disease are all on the increase, while in the developing world malnutrition, infectious disease, and injuries are still rife. At present, inequalities of health and wealth—both within and between nations—appear to be increasing,1 with an adverse impact on children's health. The Ottawa charter for health promotion states that the fundamental conditions for health are peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable ecosystem, sustainable resources, social justice, and equity.2 The evidence for the connections among the environment, the economy, and social change are compelling and any change within one inevitably affects the others.