Today, Salud por Derecho joins other European health, patient and public health organisations in calling on the Heads of State and Government of the European Union for more ambitious and people-centred climate action. Ahead of the European Council on 22–23 October, where leaders will discuss the EU’s climate ambition beyond 2030, we have signed a joint letter urging them to place health at the centre of climate policy decisions.
Europe is not prepared for the growing health impacts of climate change. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), between 1980 and 2023, extreme weather and climate-related events caused more than 240,000 deaths across the continent and economic losses exceeding EUR 738 billion. In the summer of 2024 alone, heatwaves led to 62,700 additional deaths in Europe — a 23% increase compared with the previous year — according to an ISGlobal study published in Nature Medicine.
Furthermore, extreme weather events are estimated to cause economic losses of EUR 43 billion in 2025, with cumulative impacts potentially reaching EUR 126 billion by 2029 if more ambitious measures are not adopted. The burning of fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change, continues to cause air pollution that worsens respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, shortens life expectancy, and deepens social inequalities. Wildfires, heatwaves and poor urban air quality pose a particular threat to children, older people, and those living with chronic diseases.
The signatory health organisations call for the new 2040 emissions reduction target to be aligned with the Paris Agreement and the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, while prioritising policies with direct health co-benefits. We also urge an end to carbon offset mechanisms that allow pollution to continue instead of being reduced, and call for an EU-wide roadmap to phase out fossil fuels by 2027. In addition, we call for an end to fossil fuel subsidies between 2028 and 2035, with the freed-up public funds redirected to clean energy, pollution reduction and climate resilience.
You can read our joint letter here:
Joint_health_letter_SOER_EUleaders
