The challenge

Despite clear signs that the impacts of climate change are escalating,
the global response has been inadequate.

Traditional scientific efforts have fallen short of providing knowledge and tools that have been broadly applied in decision-making, and innovative approaches to knowledge translation are needed.

CATALYSE aims
to provide
new knowledge,
data, and tools on

01

The relationships between changes in environmental hazards caused by climate change, ecosystems, and human health.

02

The health co-benefits of climate action.

03

The role of health evidence in decision making.

04

The societal implications of climate change for health systems.

CATALYSE aims to answer three questions:

How to optimize health in climate change mitigation and adaptation?

How to close the knowledge-to-action gap to accelerate climate change action?

How should health systems adapt to climate change and reduce their footprint?

Specific objectives:

01

To develop an integrated indicator framework and repository to track the status of health-relevant outcomes of climate actions.

02

To quantify the health co-benefits and full social and environmental costs and benefits resulting from mitigation measures outside of the health sector.

03

To develop innovative surveillance and forecasting tools that facilitate effective response to environmental health hazards (e.g. heat stress, allergenic pollen) caused by climate change and the design, monitoring and evaluation of interventions to mitigate climate change.

04

To investigate how stakeholders engage with evidence regarding the health impacts of climate change, and to develop strategies and tools to facilitate engagement.

05

To provide evidence and training on the most effective strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation for health systems, with specific focus on vulnerable populations including those occupationally exposed to hazards induced by climate change.

Work Packages

  • Novel indicators to feed into Lancet Countdown in Europe
  • Improved spatial resolution
  • Focus on vulnerable groups

  • Air pollution and GHG emissions under policy-relevant scenarios
  • Air pollution-climate interactions and health
  • Health co-benefits of mitigation in multiple non-health sectors: buildings, food systems, transport
  • Social cost-benefit analysis

  • Heat-health EWS
  • EWS of allergic rhinitis
  • Predictive model of cycle utilisation in urban areas
  • Surveillance of perceived attribution of health to climate change

  • Stakeholder engagement with health impacts of climate change
  • Use of health evidence in policy process
  • Influence of communication and framing on engagement and behaviour change
  • Multi-functional digital platform

  • Health system adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change
  • Cost effectiveness of adaptation strategies
  • Adaptation to protect vulnerable groups with barriers to health services
  • Mitigation strategies in health sector
  • Training for health professionals in adaptation and mitigation

Case studies

Catalonia, Spain

Heat-health early warning system

Focus: Incorporate weather forecasting, health data, and epidemiological modelling to predict mortality, morbidity, and/or occupational accidents caused by heat stress and develop relevant Early Warning System

CATALYSE partners: ISGlobal, Meteocat, Finish Meteorological Institute, ASL Roma 1

Stakeholders: citizens, meteorological agencies, public health agencies

CATALYSE Work Package: 3

Italy; Germany; Finland

Early warning system to manage allergic rhinitis symptoms

Focus: Randomised Control Trial to test and validate the predictive skills of an early warning system (to predict the severity of rhinitis’ symptoms based on patients’ previous data and environmental data) in terms of real-world utility and improve patients’ symptom management

CATALYSE partners: University of Porto, MASK-Air, ISGlobal, Hertie School, Finish Meteorologic Institute, University of Zurich

Stakeholders: allergic rhinitis patients, clinicians

CATALYSE Work Package: 3

Berlin, Germany; Barcelona, Spain

Predictive model of cycle utilization

Focus: Big data approach to monitoring interventions to promote cycling and informing planned improvements of cycling infrastructure

CATALYSE partners: Hertie School, ISGlobal

Stakeholders: city planners, citizens, civil society focused on sustainable transport

CATALYSE Work Package: 3

Catalonia, Spain

Social-media based public health surveillance tool

Focus: Evaluation of real-world utility of social-media based surveillance of perceived links between climate change induced environmental hazards and physical and mental health

CATALYSE partners: Hertie School, University of Zurich

Stakeholders: public health agencies, citizens

CATALYSE Work Package: 3

United Kingdom

Policy analysis of UK’s National Health Service commitment to become first carbon net zero health service

Focus: Understand how evidence on health impacts of climate change was used in policy making

CATALYSE partners: University of Birmingham, Umeå University, Health and Environment Alliance

Stakeholders: civil society working on sustainable health care, regional, national and European governments, health system and health care professionals

CATALYSE Work Package: 4

Portugal

Portugal’s community-based adaptation strategy for wildfires

Focus: Understand how evidence on health impacts of climate change was used in policy making

CATALYSE partners: University of Birmingham, Umeå University, Health and Environment Alliance

Stakeholders: civil society working on air pollution and health, national and European governments, citizens

CATALYSE Work Package: 4

Poland

Policy analysis of Poland’s pledge to coal phase out

Focus: Understand how evidence on health impacts of climate change was used in policy making

CATALYSE partners: University of Birmingham, Umeå University, Health and Environment Alliance

Stakeholders: civil society working on air pollution and health, national and European governments, citizens

CATALYSE Work Package: 4

Catalonia, Spain

Decarbonization of the Catalan Health System

Focus: Co-create strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the Catalan Health System based on Life Cycle Perspective

CATALYSE partners: ESCI-UPF, ASL Roma 1, ISGlobal, University College London

Stakeholders: civil society working on sustainable health care, regional and national governments using European best practices, health system and health care professionals

CATALYSE Work Package: 5