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Meet the First Signatories Calling for Stronger European Action on Heat and Health

Meet the first 1,240 signatories to PHA Europe’s Open Letter on Heat and Health—from healthcare and research to emergency services—and hear why they are calling for stronger EU action. The campaign remains open for signatures.

Emergency physicians, firefighters and researchers describe how extreme heat affects their work—and why prevention matters. The Open Letter remains open for signatures.

The first 1,240 signatories to the Open Letter on Heat and Health bring experience from emergency medicine, fire and rescue services, research and community care. Their perspectives show how extreme heat affects both the people who need protection and the professionals responding to its consequences.

A range of professional perspectives

The signatories come from 28 countries and a wide range of professional backgrounds. Among them, 581 selected medicine, 247 health and environmental research, 201 public health and health policy, and 101 nursing. Pharmacy and other healthcare professions, social work and care services, and emergency medical, fire and rescue services are also represented. Because signatories could select more than one field, these figures overlap.

Everyone signed in a personal capacity. Their signatures do not imply endorsement by their employers or professional organisations.

List of first 1,240 signatories

Why they are calling for action

The signatories below bring perspectives from emergency medicine, fire and rescue services, and public health research. Their experiences show why stronger prevention is needed to protect people from extreme heat and those responding to its consequences.

“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.”

Professor Christoph Dodt
President of the European Society for Emergency Medicine (EUSEM)

“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 of European Union Firefighters’ Association (EUFFAS)

“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.”

Josep Maria Antó
Research Professor at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)

Building a shared European voice

The Open Letter builds on the European Declaration on Heat and Health, endorsed by 129 organisations in August 2026. While the Declaration brought together institutional support, the Open Letter invites individuals to strengthen that collective call for European action.

The campaign draws on the connections fostered by the PHA Europe Core Partners Platform, bringing together expertise in research, healthcare, education, public health and advocacy. This network provides a foundation for collaboration and outreach across Europe.

The Platform comprises the University of Helsinki’s Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS) and Lahti University Campus; the Italian National Research Council (CNR); the German Alliance on Climate Change and Health (KLUG); Karolinska Institutet; the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER); the Cochrane Planetary Health Thematic Group; the Portuguese Council for Health and Environment (CPSA); the Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health at Cyprus University of Technology; Alianza Médica por la Salud Planetaria (AMESAP); University Medical Center Utrecht; the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore; Alliance Santé Planétaire; the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL); the Planetary Health Horizon Cluster; and the University of Novi Sad / EUPHA Environment and Health Section.

The first signatures are a starting point

The first 1,240 signatures, collected by 1 November 2026, represent the initial support presented at the campaign’s public launch. A PDF listing these signatories, their professional fields and countries is available alongside the Open Letter.

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.

Health professionals, scientists and everyone working to protect human health across Europe are invited to participate. The Open Letter is available in 12 languages, and all signatories join in a personal capacity.

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