Advancing research and policy in climate and health in the Nordic countries: Key challenges and opportunities for future action

Abstract

Aim:

This editorial presents state of the art developments in research and policy in the newly emerging field of climate and health and examines the gaps in research, the relevance of Nordic research in a global context, and the need to place the climate–health agenda in the policy space.

Methods:

We use a set of articles from the Special Issue on ‘Climate change and health in the Nordic countries’ in this journal to understand current research in climate and health. We identify three emerging areas that characterize the current focus of research: modelling climate change-induced exposures; health cross-linkages of the climate health agenda and targeted communication. On linking the ongoing research with several recent policies and projects within the EU and Nordic countries, we identify vital questions where future research needs to concentrate and discuss the challenges associated with this.

Results:

We identify three key questions related to interaction, vulnerable groups and equitable adaptation that will be crucial to future risk. We highlight a need for integrated study designs and innovative data analysis tools to help answer these questions.

Conclusion:

We conclude with proposing a path forward for the ‘Climate and Health’ research and policy agenda in the years to come.