The impact of the environment — and its degradation — on human health is clear: one in every eight deaths in the EU — some 630,000 deaths per year[1] — can be attributed to stressors such as air and noise pollution, due to the link with non-communicable diseases such as cancer or cardiovascular disease, as well as contributing to mental ill-health.
More than ever, it’s now touching the lives of people in temperate regions of the globe. On top of a pandemic, Europe also went through a record-breaking summer with heatwaves and fires raging in some parts of the continent, and disaster floods impacting others in unprecedented ways.
How are these consequences of climate change impacting the health of people in Europe and – as we come out of the pandemic – what can be done to face them better? This question, as global leaders are gathering at COP26, is top of mind for health care policy makers and providers and could tie in well with the upcoming French Presidency’s objectives of going beyond health security in the first half of 2022.