Climate change is becoming a global health emergency, warns Iceland’s former prime minister

‘The responsibility of every leader is to think about the security and safety of the citizens. And we cannot ignore that the climate crisis is affecting that.’ Iceland’s former prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir now chairs the Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health. Here, she explains how climate change is taking a toll on food and water security, and argues that the duty of political leaders to those they serve means the climate must become a priority. The World Economic Forum’s Climate and Health initiative brings together industry, policy and science experts to identify and scale the adoption of proven, high-impact solutions at the nexus of climate and health.