Global health. The current scenario and future perspectives

70 India, reported that a 1% increase in the KOF globalization index resulted in a 0.18% increase in per capita CO 2 emissions and concluded that globalization, economic growth and increased energy consumption contribute to short-term environmental degradation. In South America, most countries have experienced an increase in the globalization index at the expense of higher electricity consumption, increased CO 2 emissions and a larger ecological footprint. Figure 2 (at the end of the chapter) shows these three indicators in relation to the KOF globalization index in five South American countries for the years 1984 and 2014, which presents the change that occurred over 30 years. Figure 2 shows that all countries have experienced an increase in the globalization index, Chile and Peru at the top. However, Chile shows the highest increase in CO 2 emissions, electricity consumption and ecological footprint when comparing both periods, while Argentina was the only country to maintain its ecological footprint almost unchanged. Increased population incomes are related to increased consumption of goods and services The increase in population incomes due to economic growth leads to increased consumption of goods and services. The negative effect of this is the increase in production, the generation of commercial and household waste and the emission of polluting gases and GHGs, which cause environmental degradation. Aluko et al. (2021), who studied the effect of globalization on environmental degradation in 27 countries, reported that a 1% increase in per capita GDP led to a 0.86% increase in environmental degradation due to increased demand for goods and services, which puts additional pressure on the environment through increased production and energy consumption. In summary, this increase in population consumption exacerbates the described factors, which generate an endless cycle that degrades the environment. Consumption and production patterns are the fundamental cause of environmental deterioration. The increase in per capita consumption has driven an exponential growth in human production and consumption of everything, from motor vehicles to synthetic fertilizers, paper and plastic to the use of water and energy. Individually, the consumption of one single person may have little impact on the environment. However, cumulative consumption, which multiplies similar behaviors by millions or billions of people in a population, has direct and powerful environmental impacts on the planet’s natural systems. Conventional economics praise consumption as the engine of economic growth that satisfies human needs and desires. This, combined with the