Peter Stenvinkel
Professor of nephrology at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm
Climate change is reshaping global health by intensifying heat stress, food and water insecurity, and extreme weather, leading to rising cases of cardiovascular, renal, respiratory and metabolic diseases. Kidney injuries in particular become more prevalent due to heat exposure and increased pollution. To find solutions to this deteriorating health landscape, this article highlights the need for nature‑centric approaches. Biomimicry, which draws inspiration from biological systems, offers promising solutions: animals such as bears, naked mole rats or diving seals display remarkable resistance to conditions that severely affect humans, from ischemia to extreme temperatures. Studying these features could unlock new therapies for chronic and climate‑exacerbated diseases. However, biomimetic medical research remains underfunded and underdeveloped, while biodiversity loss threatens this very reservoir of biological innovations. Protecting ecosystems and rethinking diets and health systems are essential to building climate‑resilient health.
