Climate change and human health are deeply interconnected. Healthcare systems play a crucial role in protecting public health, yet they also contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions — particularly through energy use in hospitals, waste streams (including disposables), anaesthetic gases, and the production, transport and use of medicines and medical devices. 

Reducing the climate footprint of healthcare requires system-level change involving many actors within and beyond the sector, in the Netherlands and internationally. It raises complex questions about supply chains, financing, regulation and professional standards, patient safety, and behavioural change. Within this theme, SEVEN investigates how such systemic transformations can reduce emissions while safeguarding the quality, accessibility and equity of care. 

At the same time, SEVEN examines the health impacts of climate change on populations, with particular attention to vulnerable groups and urban environments. Climate-related risks such as extreme heat, flooding and air pollution increasingly affect health outcomes and exacerbate existing inequalities. SEVEN’s research explores how climate, urban design, social conditions and governance interact to shape health risks, and how policies and interventions can strengthen resilience and health equity. 

Across both lines of work, SEVEN combines systems thinking with interdisciplinary research and close collaboration with healthcare institutions, policymakers, researchers and communities. This approach enables the development of actionable knowledge — ranging from concrete proposals to reduce the climate impact of healthcare systems, to strategies for protecting public health in a changing climate — with a view to scalability, replicability and long-term impact. 

The projects below illustrate how SEVEN’s work on climate and health translates into concrete research and interventions in practice.