X.2.PK.2. Embedding evidence in action: lessons from the UK to inform climate and public policy across Europe
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Climate change is impacting population health and health and social care systems across Europe, particularly in urban areas where risks associated with heat and cold exposure, air quality and Extreme Weather Events intersect with social inequalities. While most European countries have developed climate risk and health assessments under the EU Climate Adaptation Strategy, key challenges remain, including translating evidence into effective, equitable and locally actionable public health responses. This workshop brings together interdisciplinary research from the UK’s NIHR Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Climate Change and Health Security, in collaboration with European partners, to explore how evidence can better inform policy and practice across different governance levels. The HPRU is a partnership between the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK Health Security Agency, University College London and the Met Office, generating applied research to support public health policy on climate change and contributing to climate-resilient health systems. Through four presentations, this Pecha Kucha workshop will discuss how HPRU research informs policy-relevant tools and decisions with clear applicability across Europe using examples. These include: identifying vulnerable populations and settings at risk from heat and cold; improving targeting of interventions to address fuel poverty and health inequalities; refining public health communication during extreme weather events and exploring how local governments integrate health within climate and urban policies. The session will include an interactive discussion to explore how this model of embedded, policy-facing research can be adapted in different European contexts, supporting stronger integration of health within climate adaptation strategies at local, national and EU levels. The session specifically aims to: (1) examine how evidence can better inform local and urban decision-making; (2) explore approaches to targeting vulnerable populations and reducing health inequalities; and (3) strengthen connections between research, policy and implementation across governance levels. Key messages • Gaps between evidence, public communication and local implementation limit effective climate-health adaptation across the UK and Europe. • Improving evidence on climate-health impacts and vulnerability factors is essential to deliver equitable and effective public health adaptation across the UK and Europe.
Authors: Shakoor Hajat, Marija Jevtic
Institution: National Institute for Health and Care Research
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,181
OpenAlex ID: W7223650266