How do we survive climate change?
Abstract
Our societies face a polycrisis in which climate change — with its devastating environmental and health impacts — demands immediate attention. The public health community must respond as scientists, professionals and citizens to the profound question of what future we are building for generations to come.
The keynote will establish that climate change is not a future risk but an immediate and escalating public health crisis: the scientific evidence has never been stronger, yet political attention remains fragmented. It will introduce the Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health, convened by WHO/Europe to close the gap between evidence and implementation, and present its Call to Action across four domains: recognising climate change as a public health emergency; transforming health systems to be climate-resilient, low-carbon and prevention-oriented; scaling community-based solutions, particularly at city level; and reforming economic and financial systems to align incentives with health and climate goals. Drawing on the Dutch experience of pioneering climate-resilient health systems, particular emphasis will be placed on health system transformation and the health workforce as critical levers for change.
The Executive Director of the European Environment Agency will present findings from the European Climate Risk Assessment and the European Climate and Health Observatory. ASPHER's Senior Lead on Climate & Planetary Health will address the capacity-building and professionalisation needed for public health professionals to meet these challenges. Moderation by two early-career ASPHER Climate and Health Fellows will keep the discussion focused on the concerns of the next generation of public health professionals.
Keynote speaker: Enrico Giovannini
Commissioner of the Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health (PECCH); Former Minister of Sustainable Infrastructure and Mobility, Italy
Speakers/Panellists: Aleksandra Kazmierczak
Coordinator of the European Climate and Health Observatory, European Environment Agency
Francesca Racioppi
Head WHO European Centre for Environment and Health
Laurent Chambaud
Senior Chair, ASPHER Climate & Planetary Health Working Group
Related
- Introducing the Climate Change Special Issue.
- Awareness of Climate Change and Its Impact on Reproductive Health
- Editorial: Integrating climate change into health education and promotion
- Could Climate Change Be Silently Damaging Medicines We Keep at Home?
- Climate change worry and generalized anxiety among high school students in a rural district of Türkiye: a cross-sectional study
BibTeX
@article{aspher2026survive,
title = {{How do we survive climate change?}},
author = {ASPHER, WHO and Mary Codd and Chiara Cadeddu},
journal = {The European Journal of Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.001},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.001},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - How do we survive climate change?
AU - ASPHER, WHO
AU - Mary Codd
AU - Chiara Cadeddu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The European Journal of Public Health
DO - 10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.001
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.001
AB - Our societies face a polycrisis in which climate change — with its devastating environmental and health impacts — demands immediate attention. The public health community must respond as scientists, professionals and citizens to the profound question of what future we are building for generations to come. The keynote will establish that climate change is not a future risk but an immediate and escalating public health crisis: the scientific evidence has never been stronger, yet political attention remains fragmented. It will introduce the Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health, convened by WHO/Europe to close the gap between evidence and implementation, and present its Call to Action across four domains: recognising climate change as a public health emergency; transforming health systems to be climate-resilient, low-carbon and prevention-oriented; scaling community-based solutions, particularly at city level; and reforming economic and financial systems to align incentives with health and climate goals. Drawing on the Dutch experience of pioneering climate-resilient health systems, particular emphasis will be placed on health system transformation and the health workforce as critical levers for change. The Executive Director of the European Environment Agency will present findings from the European Climate Risk Assessment and the European Climate and Health Observatory. ASPHER's Senior Lead on Climate & Planetary Health will address the capacity-building and professionalisation needed for public health professionals to meet these challenges. Moderation by two early-career ASPHER Climate and Health Fellows will keep the discussion focused on the concerns of the next generation of public health professionals. Keynote speaker: Enrico Giovannini Commissioner of the Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health (PECCH); Former Minister of Sustainable Infrastructure and Mobility, Italy Speakers/Panellists: Aleksandra Kazmierczak Coordinator of the European Climate and Health Observatory, European Environment Agency Francesca Racioppi Head WHO European Centre for Environment and Health Laurent Chambaud Senior Chair, ASPHER Climate & Planetary Health Working Group
SN - 1101-1262
SN - 1464-360X
ER -