More Than 1,200 Health Professionals Across Europe Call for Binding Action on Extreme Heat
The Planetary Health Alliance Europe Regional Hub has launched an Open Letter backed by 1,240 signatories from 28 countries, calling on EU institutions to adopt legally binding, adequately funded measures to protect people from extreme heat.
Following another deadly summer of extreme heat across Europe, 1,240 individuals from 28 countries have signed an Open Letter urging the European Parliament and European Commission to adopt legally binding, adequately funded measures to protect people’s health.
A growing European health community calling for action
The signatories include physicians, nurses, midwives, paramedics and firefighters, public health specialists and researchers. Among them are Professor Christoph Dodt, President of the European Society for Emergency Medicine (EUSEM), and Karl-Heinz Banse, President of the European Union Firefighters’ Association (EUFFAS). Like all signatories, they signed in a personal capacity.
The summer of 2026 highlighted the growing health consequences of extreme heat across Europe. Heat-related illness and mortality disproportionately affect older people, people with chronic conditions, outdoor workers and those living in poorly adapted housing.
The Open Letter comes at a critical moment for European climate policy, following the European Commission’s presentation of its proposed European Climate Resilience Law and ahead of COP31.
“Heat-associated and heat-triggered illness is absorbed by emergency medicine, and in June this caused overload across large parts of Europe. We therefore need enforceable obligations that protect people before they reach us.”
Prof. Dr. Christoph Dodt
President, European Society for Emergency Medicine (EUSEM)
From scientific evidence to action
The Open Letter calls for a radical shift in ambition and resources to address the growing health impacts of extreme heat. Its key demands include legally binding adaptation obligations, a European Heat–Health Action Plan, dedicated funding, stronger occupational heat protection, safe indoor temperatures and climate-resilient health services.
It also calls for accelerated climate mitigation and for health, scientific evidence and equity to be placed at the centre of European climate policy.
“Up to now, national and EU initiatives, while relevant, have proved insufficient to prevent high heat-related mortality. Through this open letter, we call for binding adaptation measures and dedicated funding to turn scientific evidence into action and prevent further loss of life,” says Josep Maria Antó, Research Professor at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).
The signatories also commit to strengthening heat preparedness within their own organisations, protecting healthcare workers and prioritising those most vulnerable to extreme temperatures.
“Our colleagues across Europe absorb what heat and vegetation fires leave behind. In France and Spain they fought devastating wildfires this summer, in many places far beyond the limit of what they can carry. That requires enforceable rules to protect both emergency responders and the public.”
Karl-Heinz Banse
President, European Union Firefighters’ Association (EUFFAS)
Add your voice for stronger action on heat and health
The first 1,240 signatures from 28 countries were recorded as of 1 November 2026, at 23:59 CET. The campaign remains open, with the Open Letter available in 12 languages.
The Open Letter calls on the European Parliament and European Commission to strengthen protection from extreme heat through legally binding measures, dedicated funding and measurable health outcomes. By bringing together individual voices from healthcare, science, emergency services and beyond, it makes a collective demand for European action to prevent avoidable illness and deaths.
What would legally binding measures mean in practice?
Legally binding measures would establish clear duties to protect people from extreme heat, with defined responsibilities, implementation deadlines and accountability. The letter calls for these obligations to be backed by adequate funding and assessed against measurable health outcomes. The aim is to turn commitments into effective protection in workplaces, homes, communities and health services, particularly for people most at risk.
Is adapting to extreme heat enough?
Adaptation and emissions reductions must go hand in hand. People need protection from the heat they already face, through measures such as early warning systems linked to action, safer working conditions and climate-resilient health services. At the same time, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is essential to limit future warming and the growing risks it brings. The Open Letter calls for action on both fronts.
Who can sign, and how?
The Open Letter welcomes signatures from health professionals, scientists and anyone working to protect human health across Europe. This includes people working in healthcare, public health, research, emergency services and other relevant fields. Signatories join in a personal capacity: signing does not imply endorsement by their employer or professional organisation.
Is the Open Letter still open for signatures, and what do the first 1,240 signatures represent?
Yes. The first 1,240 signatures, collected from individuals in 28 countries by 1 November 2026, represent the initial support presented at the campaign’s public launch—not the final total.
The campaign remains open, with the aim of reaching thousands of signatures before the letter is formally submitted to the European Parliament and European Commission on 10 December 2026. Every additional signature strengthens this collective call for action on heat and health.
