European Leaders and Global Initiatives Unite to Integrate Climate and Health Education for Medical Professionals
Leaders at ENCHE conference in Spain and COP30 agreements in Belém push forward climate-health education and global adaptation funding to prepare medical professionals for emerging public health challenges linked to climate change.
- • ENCHE conference promotes integrating climate-health education into medical curricula across Europe, aiming to train 10,000 students by 2027.
- • COP30 launched the Belém Action Plan, focusing on climate adaptation for health systems globally.
- • A coalition of 35+ philanthropic institutions pledged $300 million via the Climate and Health Funders Coalition for climate-health initiatives.
- • WHO recognizes climate change as a major public health threat, urging updates in medical education and health policy.
Key details
On November 24, 2025, a pivotal conference took place in Spain under the auspices of the European Network on Climate and Health Education (ENCHE) to advance the integration of climate change and health knowledge into medical education. Held at the Royal National Academy of Medicine, and co-organized by AstraZeneca and Sanitas, the event brought together experts, institutional leaders, and medical faculties to address the challenge of equipping future healthcare professionals with vital understanding and skills to manage the health impacts of the climate crisis. ENCHE, led by the University of Glasgow and supported by the WHO, aims to train 10,000 medical students across 40 universities in 15 countries by 2027 to mitigate increasing healthcare pressures brought on by climate-related health issues such as heatwaves, infectious diseases, and resource scarcity.
Simultaneously, COP30 in Belém highlighted health as a central component of climate action by launching the Belém Action Plan (BHAP), the first international framework dedicated to climate adaptation in health. This plan, developed with the Brazilian Ministry of Health, WHO, and PAHO, focuses on strengthening resilient health systems and prioritizing vulnerable populations confronted by extreme environmental conditions. It garnered support from over 35 global philanthropic institutions forming the Climate and Health Funders Coalition, pledging $300 million to implement evidence-based, scalable interventions emphasizing equity and justice.
Experts like Hector Tejero, Health and Climate Change officer for the Spanish Ministry of Health, emphasized WHO’s recognition of the climate crisis as a public health emergency, underscoring the urgent need for updating medical curricula. Camille Huser, ENCHE Co-Chair, stressed the incorporation of climate-health content into medical education, while leaders from Sanitas and AstraZeneca highlighted the increasing impact of environmental health on individual wellbeing and the need for sustainability in healthcare training. These coordinated efforts reflect a growing consensus on the necessity for holistic, multidisciplinary approaches to prepare health systems and professionals for the evolving climate-health nexus.
This article was synthesized and translated from native language sources to provide English-speaking readers with local perspectives.
