Climate change is a health crisis – and fixing it is a health opportunity

Geneva, Switzerland, 17 May 2026

Energy prices are volatile, supply chains are under strain, and the geopolitical shocks of recent years have exposed how fragile fossil fuel dependency makes societies; economically, politically and in terms of health. In the last decade the global temperature increase has accelerated significantly, and the pan-European region is the fastest-heating region on earth, with temperatures rising at twice the global average rate. Rapid temperature increases make it more likely that sudden "tipping points" in the climate system will be reached, whereby dramatic shifts in key earth systems occur. The window to prevent irreversible harm is narrowing.

This is the world in which the Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health is today publishing its Call to Action. The Commission - chaired by former Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir and convened by WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge - brings together 13 former heads of government, international bodies, ministers and civil society leaders from across the 53-country WHO European Region. Its message to governments is direct: climate change is not a future threat to be managed. It is an immediate and growing crisis affecting health, food, water, energy and national security simultaneously; and the current response is not matching its scale.

Climate-health action is a smart investment

The Commission's 17 recommendations span four domains: treating climate change as a growing threat to health security, transforming health systems, scaling up local action, and reforming the economic and financial systems that are driving the climate crisis. At their core is a challenge to both governments and to WHO: the rules, the money and the political priorities are all pointing in the wrong direction, and the time for incremental adjustment is over. These recommendations are a blueprint for governments willing to shift funding from actions that accelerate the climate crisis to preventing it, as far as possible.

"The climate crisis is a threat to our safety and security, social cohesion, human rights and health," noted H.E. Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Chair of the Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health. "Far from being a problem solely for future generations, it is a real and present threat to us right now in Europe. Climate action is not merely a necessity. It is a high-return investment for a more just and resilient society. We all have a political and moral responsibility to act now."

The Commission is calling on heads of government to bring climate and health onto the agenda of national security councils, engaging all relevant ministries including defence, energy and finance. As European governments are currently redirecting public spending toward security in response to mounting geopolitical pressures, the Commission argues that climate change is itself a primary security risk; one that is already disrupting infrastructure, health systems and food and water security across the region, and one whose costs will compound with every year of delayed action.

Air pollution from fossil fuel combustion kills hundreds of thousands of people across the region every year. The same fossil fuels driving the climate-health crisis are making energy systems vulnerable to supply shocks and price spikes; costs that fall hardest on those least able to pay them. The Commission argues that accelerating the transition to clean renewables and energy efficiency is not only a climate and health imperative; it is the route to greater energy security and a fairer economy.

The health and economic case for acting now is unambiguous. The cost of inaction far exceeds the cost of early mitigation and adaptation. Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and redirecting those funds toward renewable energy, public transport, sustainable diets and climate-resilient health systems would save lives, reduce health costs and cut the region's dependence on volatile fossil fuel imports.

"Climate change is a security threat, a health emergency and an economic time bomb, all rolled into one," said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. "Meanwhile, governments are spending billions subsidizing the fuels that cause climate change and burden our health systems. This Commission is telling leaders clearly: act now, while a window of preventive action still exists."

A public health emergency

The Commission is also calling on WHO to formally declare climate change a public health emergency of international concern. The current framework of the International Health Regulations - designed around time-bound epidemic events - was not built for a threat of this nature. That, the Commission argues, is precisely the problem. The rules have not kept pace with the scale of the crisis, and the absence of a formal emergency designation has allowed governments to treat climate change as a chronic background condition rather than an acute, escalating threat that is already evident.

Transforming health systems

The Commission makes specific recommendations to improve the climate resilience of health systems and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It argues for the mandatory training of health professionals in climate change and health, greater emphasis on mental health in climate-health planning, and for integration of key climate indicators into national health system performance assessments. As most greenhouse gas emissions from health care come from supply chains, the Commission argues for climate-friendly procurement standards across the region to send a consistent demand signal to suppliers.

Scaling up local, community-based solutions for climate and health

Building on examples of city and community-led initiatives, the Commission proposes an accountability framework that supports the monitoring of implementation and "learning by doing"; fostering knowledge exchange at the local level.

"Climate change is already impacting health across the region through multiple pathways" stated Professor Sir Andrew Haines, Chief Scientific Advisor of the Commission, "But climate adaptation and mitigation actions provide opportunities to protect and promote health. The challenge now is to implement these actions at scale and communicate their benefits to the public and political leaders."

Measuring what matters

The Commission is also challenging governments to rethink how they measure progress. Gross domestic product (GDP) counts fossil fuel consumption as economic output while ignoring the health costs of pollution, the economic burden of climate disasters and the welfare of future generations. The Commission calls on governments and the international community to build monitoring systems using metrics that place health, equity and environmental sustainability at the core of decision-making; and on WHO to strengthen coordination on climate and health across the United Nations system.

The Commission's recommendations are accompanied by a Progress Measures Dashboard setting out concrete indicators and accountability mechanisms for tracking delivery across all countries.