Today, on the European Day for the Victims of Climate Change — a day to remember those already suffering the consequences of this crisis and to emphasize the urgent need for action — we at Salud por Derecho want to remind our political representatives that taking action is essential. That’s why we’re launching the Small Talks campaign, to shine a light on this issue and demand responses that truly rise to the challenge.
With this campaign, we want to highlight the huge gap between the real urgency of the climate emergency and the casual way it’s still all too often addressed in political and public discussions
We created this project using humor and irony to reveal something deeply serious: the dangerous disconnect between words and the actual scale of the problem. In the campaign videos, you’ll see fictional public figures casually chatting about the weather while surrounded by wildfires or standing knee-deep in water and mud. By putting this lack of ambition and the trivialization of the debate side by side with reality, we want to make it clear: looking the other way has a direct and devastating impact on the health of millions.
Small Talks is built on facts that speak for themselves. According to the World Health Organization and the latest Lancet Countdown report, Europe is warming at twice the global average rate, and extreme heat has caused more than 100,000 deaths on the continent just between 2022 and 2023.
In Spain, the situation is especially alarming: this June was the hottest month ever recorded, with highs reaching 46°C in El Granado (Huelva) and nights that didn’t drop below 24°C. This prevents the body from recovering and drastically raises cardiovascular risks. In that single month, 380 heat-related deaths were recorded — ten times more than in June of the previous year. So far in 2025, there have already been 2,168 deaths linked to extreme temperatures, accounting for 68% of all climate-related deaths registered throughout 2024, according to Spain’s Carlos III Health Institute.
But climate change doesn’t just drive heat-related deaths. It’s also fueling more intense forest fires, lengthening pollen seasons, which worsens allergies and chronic conditions. and allowing diseases like dengue or West Nile virus, once confined to tropical areas, to spread. Burning fossil fuels pollutes the air we breathe, causing thousands of premature deaths. And all of this is also taking a toll on our mental health: anxiety, depression, and suicide risk rise with heatwaves but also with the constant fear of an uncertain climate future — the so-called eco-anxiety that especially affects young people.
If you also believe it’s time for our political representatives to take real action, please share this campaign and help us reach even more people.
