Funds are needed to study the impact of climate change on health, warn European researchers

Science needs resources. In a column published on November 28, researchers from the Sphera consortium called for more resources to study the effects of global warming on health. This consortium brings together European scientists from Spain, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Sweden and Italy: all work in health, environmental or climate research institutes. “The European Commission has proposed a budget of around €970 million for health research – however, alarmingly, no money is allocated to research into the effects of climate change on health, they observe. This must change.“

Health and global warming: an urgent need for funds to finance research

They call on European institutions to integrate research into the impacts of climate change on health. “The EU cannot afford to delay this actionthey warn. Funding research on the climate-health nexus is crucial to preserving public health and guaranteeing the resilience of our societies.“These specialists cite in particular the COP29 special report on climate and health, and believe that it is essential that health becomes the main argument for political decision-makers to act on the climate.

Hundreds of thousands of deaths linked to climatic events

They cite concrete and recent examples, such as the floods in the Valencia region in Spain. But also the increase in heat-related mortality in European countries. “In 2022 and 2023, summer heat caused around 70,000 and 47,000 deaths respectively. Half of these deaths are attributable to anthropogenic climate change, with record temperatures in 2024, both in Europe and globally, they recall. Recently, a new report from the World Weather Attribution group and Imperial College London analyzed the ten deadliest events since the devastating 2003 heatwave and concluded that, collectively, these events caused more than 570,000 deaths.”

But they also cite the other effects of global warming. “The extended duration of the pollen season and the introduction of new pollen species due to global warming pose additional challenges for allergy and asthma patients.”they recall. Finally, more numerous forest fires increase air pollution and this can also represent a risk for human health.

Understanding the effects of global warming on health to better counter them

In an interview with France InterRobert Barouki, biochemist at Inserm, one of the signatories, speaks of this forum as a cry of alarm. For him, better understanding the impact of warming on health is necessary to “prepare ourselves better”. He recalls that research needs “a lot of funding”and that “Europe is the place where we can currently finance these kinds of major programs.”. This research on the effects of global warming will perhaps make it possible to “prepare a therapeutic approach”for this specialist. In any case, these European researchers warn of the urgency of funding research and send a message to the European institutions, at the conclusion of their forum: “Let’s not wait for the next crisis to act”.