POLICY BRIEFS
This section presents key policy briefs developed by the TRIGGER project, offering evidence-based recommendations to help shape policies across the European Union to protect the health of Europe’s population in a changing climate—especially its most vulnerable.
Each brief draws on the project research at the intersection of climate change and health, highlighting urgent gaps and actionable insights for policymakers.
Topics include cardiovascular and respiratory health, mental well-being, and the often-overlooked human health dimensions of environmental threats.
HEALTH PROTECTION IN CLIMATE-RELATED EU POLICIES: GAPS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Climate change is profoundly affecting physical, mental and social health. While the European Union (EU) has made significant progress in addressing these issues, critical gaps remain in integrating health considerations into climate-related policies.
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This policy brief highlights urgent areas for improvement, informed by findings from the European climate-health research project TRIGGER. Several climate hazards and key health concerns — including mental health challenges, climate-induced displacement, and underexplored risks like cold waves — remain inadequately addressed.
Protecting Europe’s hearts in a changing climate: Addressing cardiovascular health impacts of air pollution and temperature changes
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While some EU initiatives address CVD prevention, it is crucial to develop policies based on evidence about the environmental CVD risks related to climate change. This policy brief draws on a recent report from the EU climate-health research project TRIGGER to summarize the evidence on the adverse effects of air pollution and temperature changes on CVDs in Europe. Special attention is given to vulnerable groups and socio-economic risk factors. We recommend a better integration of climate-health objectives into EU policies, implementation of a range of measures to reduce environmental CVD risks, and ensuring equitable health outcomes.
Protecting Europe’s lungs in a changing climate: Addressing respiratory health impacts of air pollution and temperature changes
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This policy brief draws on a recent report from the EU climate-health research project TRIGGER to summarize the evidence on the adverse effects of air pollution and temperature changes on respiratory health in Europe. Special attention is given to vulnerable groups and socio-economic risk factors. We recommend a better integration of climate-health objectives into EU policies, implementation of a range of measures to reduce environment-related respiratory health risks, and ensuring equitable health outcomes.
Something in the air: Uncovering the overlapping crises of mental health, air pollution and climate change
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Yet, these three issues are also interconnected, creating opportunities for synergistic (“win-win-win”) policy solutions. The EU research project TRIGGER, part of the Climate-Health Cluster, aims to enhance understanding of the connections between climate change and health effects, providing insights for evidence-based policymaking. In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the need to incorporate mental health into climate and environmental policy. This policy brief summarizes current evidence on the relationship between mental health and air pollution in Europe within the context of climate change and provides recommendations for policymakers to address these challenges in an integrated manner.