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Home Events Respiratory health risks in the era of increased climate change and natural disasters

Respiratory health risks in the era of increased climate change and natural disasters

Preparing EU citizens for current and future challenges of extreme weather events

The effects of climate change pose many risks to respiratory health. We must prepare as much as possible for the future and minimise those risks.

This event was led by ERS Environment and Health Committee Chair, Dr Ulrike Gehring.

ERS welcomed respiratory health/environmental experts, policymakers, patient organisations, civil society, research and healthcare professionals to Brussels for this important discussion of policy recommendations which prioritise the health of EU citizens.

Executive summary

Highlighting how natural disasters can harm respiratory health

Throughout the one-day conference in Brussels, policymakers, healthcare professionals, scientists, and patient advocates examined how climate-driven extreme weather events are creating new respiratory risks across Europe.

The event highlighted the vulnerability of particular groups to natural disasters and showed how they, together with social inequities, exacerbate respiratory illness.

Experts urged policymakers to integrate respiratory health into broader EU crisis preparedness while underlining the need for better-funded healthcare systems, early-warning infrastructures, and cross-sector coordination.

“One Health” framework encouraged

By adopting a “One Health” framework, participants concluded that human, environmental, and animal wellbeing are inseparably linked, making unified strategies crucial for present and future challenges.

The conference concluded with a call for urgent policy reforms, especially regarding resource allocation, to recognise respiratory health not as a competing policy area but as a foundational pillar for societal resilience.

Failing to prioritise this dimension, attendees warned, endangers economic stability and undermines collective capacity to respond to climate threats.

Programme and sessions

The event was split into four sessions, each featuring presentations from expert speakers and/or panel discussions.

  • Session one – From earthquakes to flames: the respiratory risks of extreme weather events and natural disasters
    Professor Isabella Annesi-Maesano, Professor Mikahil Sofiev, Professor Zorana J Andersen, Professor Francesco Forastiere
  • Session two – Under pressure: how extreme weather events put respiratory health at risk
    Professor Sara de Matteis (ERS), Ms Marlies Kerkmeijer (ELF patient), Professor Francesco Forastiere
  • Session three – The invisible threat: respiratory impacts of a changing climate
    Dr Erol Gaillard, Mr Sinan Ozdemir, Dr Marloes Eeftens, Dr Franziska
    Matthies-Wiesler
  • Session four – Mitigation and adaptation: which climate and health policies are needed to face the emergency?
    Ms Sara Bertucci (EPHA), Mr Peter Loffler (European Commission, DG Clima), Professor Barbara Hoffmann (ERS), Ms Anne Stauffer (HEAL)

View the programme in full.

Background for this event and future activity

This event was the first in a series of activities due to be arranged in 2025 by the ERS Environment and Health Committee.

Through these activities, the Environment and Health Committee will explore ways that concrete policy recommendations can be made relating to the increasing threat posed to respiratory health by natural disasters and climate change.

ERS outlined the climate change occurrences which cause clear and major threats to respiratory patients worldwide in a statement published in 2023 in the European Respiratory Journal.

Alongside highlighting these threats, the statement called for health to be central to the development of climate change mitigation strategies and air pollution reduction policies. ERS urged support from the professional respiratory community to advocate for the protection of our planet and for the health of people that live and depend on it.

As the USA reneges on its commitments to the Paris climate agreement, scales back the EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) and as it is expected to exit the World Health Organization, it is more important than ever to keep European decision makers focused on tackling climate change and its health effects.

This year will also see the publication of the Natural Disaster and Respiratory Health series in the European Respiratory Journal, and the creation of the ERS-led Stakeholder Network focused on climate change and health.

Upcoming events

Details will be announced soon for the upcoming series of events which will be hosted by ERS on the EU Health Policy Platform.