Planetary Health, a solutions-oriented field to address human disruptions to Earth’s natural systems, is urgent to safeguard our civilization. Ubiquitous pollution and climate change are the greatest threats to humanity in the XXI century. Doctors should lead equitable healing of our world. However, the healthcare sector, which “first should do no harm”, emits 4.4% of global greenhouse gases. Henceforth, healthcare must reduce its ecological footprint while increasing coverage to the underserved. In this context, strengthening primary care - an energy and cost-effective health service - is essential to optimize healthcare´s footprint. This keynote presents and acknowledges Planetary Health care as an attribute of primary care. It also explores how “Primary Care Now More Than Ever,” proposed by the World Health Organization in 2008, could be articulated with the WONCA 2019 call for Planetary Health action by all family doctors.

We discuss family doctors´ roles in Planetary Health care by examining two cases from southern Brazil:
I) a mother with Long COVID and her child with Dengue;
II) a patient with obesity, diabetes, hypertension, anxiety and chronic occupational pain.

Then, we see them through didactic lenses:
1) Eco-Social Determinants of Health;
2) Evidence-Based Medicine;
3) Patient-Centered Clinical Method;
4) Principles of Primary Care;
5) WONCA´s competencies tree and curriculum and
6) Sustainable Development Goals.

These two clinical cases illustrate how Planetary Health care naturally and smoothly fits into family doctors' day-to-day and how one minute for the planet may be introduced in the office. The paradigm of primary care is one of the most effective strategies for planetary health and climate justice. Therefore global stakeholders, including the 2023 Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP 28), should optimize primary care. Finally, WONCA is already a leader in Planetary Health care.

Climate change is impacting human lives and health in a variety of ways. It threatens the essential ingredients of good health – clean air, safe drinking water, nutritious food supply and safe shelter – and has the potential to undermine decades of progress in global health.
The direct damage costs to health are estimated to be between US$ 2–4 billion per year by 2030. Areas with weak health infrastructure – mostly in developing countries – will be the least able to cope without assistance to prepare and respond.
Greenhouse gas emissions that result from the extraction and burning of fossil fuels are major contributors to both climate change and air pollution. Many policies and individual measures, such as transport, food and energy use choices, have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and produce major health co-benefits, particularly by abating air pollution. The phase out of polluting energy systems, for example, or the promotion of public transportation and active movement, could both lower carbon emissions and cut the burden of household and ambient air pollution, which cause 7 million premature deaths per year
The health benefits from climate actions are well documented and offer strong arguments for transformative change – and this is true across many priority areas for action: adaptation and resilience, the energy transition, clean transport and active mobility, nature, food system and finance .
The health sector and health community are a trusted and influential - but often overlooked - climate actor that can enable transformational change to protect people and planet.