Leadership for climate-resilient healthcare: insights from an ATACH technical meeting

Climate change is increasingly recognised as both a public health emergency and a systemic stressor on healthcare systems. While many healthcare organisations have articulated ambitious climate and sustainability commitments, progress is frequently constrained by gaps in leadership capacity, governance and decision-making frameworks. Understanding what forms of leadership are required to move healthcare systems from climate ambition to operational readiness is a critical priority.

This article draws on insights from two global technical meetings convened by the WHO's Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate Change and Health (ATACH), codesigned and cochaired by the Canadian Coalition for Green Healthcare and the International Hospital Federation's Geneva Sustainability Centre. The meetings brought together healthcare leaders from multiple levels within diverse resource settings. Leadership competencies were used as a guiding scaffold for the discussion.

Participants highlighted that climate-resilient healthcare requires system-oriented, value-informed and relational leadership exercised across frontline, organisational and community levels. Effective leadership was characterised by the ability to embed sustainability into routine decision-making, align climate action with quality, safety, equity and stewardship and create enabling structures beyond individual champions. These insights underscore that investing in leadership capacity is essential for delivering equitable, sustained and system-wide climate action in healthcare.