Nursing our planet

Abstract

The aim of this article is to explore the role of nurses with regards to climate change and other humanitarian challenges. The climate crisis facing our planet is not just about extreme weather events. To be properly understood and addressed, climate change should be recognised as a global public health emergency that needs urgent attention from governments everywhere. In this article, International Council of Nurses (ICN) Chief Executive Officer Howard Catton discusses the links between climate change, nursing practice and advocacy. He argues that the crises the world faces, including those related to global warming, can be handled better if they are understood as public health crises, and that having nurses involved in policymaking at every level in society provides the best chance of individuals' health needs being met. Conclusion and Implications for Nursing and/or Health Policy: Nurses must be actively involved in policymaking that addresses the humanitarian and public health impact of climate change and natural and human-made disasters. Only half the world's countries have a government-level chief nursing officer who is able to represent the nursing profession at the highest levels of policymaking. This deficit should be corrected as soon as possible so that the voices of nurses are heard and respected, and patients everywhere can benefit from the direct input of nursing into all government policies that influence people's health and well-being.