World held hostage by reliance on fossil fuels, Christiana Figueres warns – and climate health impacts are ‘mother of all injustices’

<p><strong>Exclusive:</strong> Former UN climate chief to co-chair Lancet Commission examining how sea-level rise is reshaping health, wellbeing and inequality</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/apr/07/climate-sea-level-rise-health-impacts">What are the health impacts of sea-level rise, and who should pay?</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/07/sea-level-rise-health-crisis-christiana-figueres">Christiana Figueres: Sea-level rise is a health crisis and we must hold polluters accountable</a></p></li></ul><p>Countries are being “held hostage” by their reliance on fossil fuels, a former UN climate chief has warned, describing the health impacts of climate change as “the mother of all injustices”.</p><p>Christiana Figueres, an international climate negotiator who helped deliver the Paris agreement signed in 2016, made the comments as she was announced on Wednesday as co-chair of a <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00257-6/fulltext">Lancet Commission examining how sea-level rise is reshaping health, wellbeing and inequality</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/ng-interactive/2026/apr/08/world-held-hostage-reliance-fossil-fuels-health-christiana-figueres">Continue reading...</a>