Descrição

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-ENVHLTH-01

This Horizon Europe topic supports research that addresses the health impacts of climate change and promotes environments that foster physical and mental wellbeing. Projects should contribute to enhanced prevention, resilience, adaptation, preparedness, and response strategies across populations, with a focus on evidence-based solutions that reduce health risks caused by environmental, social, and occupational factors.

Expected Outcomes

Funded projects are expected to deliver results that:

• Equip citizens, patients, healthcare practitioners, and policymakers with better understanding of climate-related health risks.
• Support governments, public health authorities, and civil society in addressing societal challenges linked to climate-driven health impacts.
• Promote FAIR data principles, enabling robust collection, sharing, and use of climate and health data.
• Enable policymakers to develop inclusive, evidence-based climate and health interventions tailored to diverse populations.

Scope of Research

Climate change is a major health risk, increasing non-communicable diseases (NCDs), mental health conditions, and infectious diseases, particularly among vulnerable populations. This call targets three broad focus areas:

1. Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) & Individual Safety – Understanding the complex interactions between climate events and NCDs, injuries, or fatalities, considering multiple exposure pathways and cascading climatic events.
2. Mental Health & Brain Health – Investigating acute and long-term impacts of climate stress on mental health, including new climate-related syndromes.
3. Infectious Diseases – Studying climate-driven patterns in infectious disease burden, including vector-borne and non-vector-borne diseases.

Recommended Activities

Proposals should integrate several activities relevant to the focus area, such as:

• Studying causal links between climate change and health outcomes using standardized metrics.
• Developing longitudinal studies that assess impacts from molecular to population levels.
• Evaluating vulnerable populations and geographic disparities in climate-health impacts.
• Advancing knowledge on pathogen dynamics, host interactions, and climate-driven mobility.
• Enhancing diagnostic capabilities, genomic surveillance, and early-warning systems.
• Investigating mechanisms to strengthen individual, community, and system resilience.
• Promoting international collaboration, especially with low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Networking & Cluster Participation

All funded projects will form a cluster, engaging in joint networking, knowledge sharing, and collaborative activities to maximize impact. Results should be shared with the European Climate and Health Observatory and contribute to the European Climate Risk Assessment.

Interdisciplinary Integration

Applicants are encouraged to integrate social sciences and humanities (SSH) expertise to enhance societal relevance and ensure meaningful impacts. Clinical studies must be clearly documented using the dedicated annex template.

Strategic Relevance

This topic aligns with Horizon Europe’s Key Strategic Orientations:

• Green transition
• A more resilient, competitive, inclusive, and democratic Europe

It contributes to:

• Reducing health burdens linked to climate change.
• Promoting healthier, safer, and inclusive living and working environments.
• Supporting carbon-neutral transitions within the healthcare sector.
• Enhancing resilience of populations and health systems to climate and environmental change.