As leaders gather in New York for Climate Week NYC, the European Network on Climate & Health Education (ENCHE) is showing how collaboration across borders can help prepare the clinicians of the future to tackle the health impacts of climate change and deliver more sustainable healthcare.

Led by the University of Glasgow and supported by the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) Health Systems Task Force, ENCHE helps medical schools integrate climate and health into clinical training. In its first full year, ENCHE has:

• Reached more than 6,000 medical students across Europe

• Engaged 61 medical schools across 16 European countries

• Recruited 50 experts in climate change and healthcare to its network of educators

• Upskilled more than 3,000 faculty members

• Supported 50 students to advocate for integration at their medical schools

Through collaboration with the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, ENCHE supports medical schools to share expertise, resources and practical approaches to integrating climate and health into existing undergraduate medical curricula. By the end of 2027, the programme aims to have reached more than 10,000 students.

Building capability across Europe

ENCHE supports medical schools to embed climate and health knowledge and competencies throughout clinical teaching, case-based learning and assessment, rather than treating the topic as a standalone subject. This helps future clinicians understand how sustainable practice can support prevention, improve patient care, and reduce unnecessary interventions and waste, while allowing institutions to build on existing curricula.

By connecting educators with experts, shared resources and faculty training, the network also helps address barriers such as limited teaching capacity and access to teaching materials.

From collaboration to national implementation

In Scotland, ENCHE supported collaboration among medical education leaders, government and the national health system to secure funding for two Scottish Clinical Leadership Fellows.

The Fellows will support a coordinated “Once for Scotland” approach across the country’s five undergraduate medical schools, strengthening climate-health teaching, educator capability, shared resources, and common standards and assessment. The initiative is designed to ensure that undergraduates across Scotland develop the knowledge and skills to deliver high-quality, person-centred and environmentally responsible care, while offering a potential model for other countries.

Public and planetary health are intrinsically linked. The climate crisis is impacting public health, with a steep rise in chronic conditions and hospital admissions which are a direct result of the environment around us. Medical schools increasingly recognise that climate and health can no longer sit at the margins of clinical training. ENCHE gives educators a practical way to embed sustainability across medical education, while learning from peers across Europe. Its first year has shown both the demand and value of a shared approach to help improve and save lives.

Professor Iain McInnes, Vice-Principal and Head of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow

Preparing health systems for the future

The Sustainable Markets Initiative Health Systems Task Force brings together leaders from across the healthcare sector to accelerate the transition to net-zero, value-based health systems. It is an early supporter and funder of the ENCHE programme.

The future of healthcare will depend not only on innovation in medicines and technology, but on equipping healthcare professionals with the skills to respond to a changing world in which sustainability is an important consideration. ENCHE shows how universities, governments and healthcare organisations can work together to turn ambition into action. By preparing the next generation of clinicians, we can improve patient care while strengthening the long-term resilience and sustainability of health systems.

Pascal Soriot, CEO, AstraZeneca and Chair, SMI Health Systems Task Force

ENCHE aims to continue expanding its teaching resources, strengthening faculty development, engaging more students and supporting national advocacy to accelerate the adoption of climate and health education across Europe.

By embedding climate and health in medical education today, ENCHE is helping the clinicians of tomorrow to deliver better care and contribute to healthier, more resilient and sustainable health systems.