The objective of the conference was to provide a forum for discussion on the health implications of the proposed “Climate Action and Renewable Energy Package”, by raising awareness of adaptation and mitigation initiatives undertaken at the local and regional level.

Within this framework, EUREGHA and HEAL launched on 7 May 2008 a competition entitled "Climate Change and Health Good Practice Award", whose winners for the categories "adaptation" and "mitigation" were awarded during the conference by Ms. Bettina Menne, Medical Officer of the WHO Regional Office for Europe.

Recent studies show that climate change will inevitably affect the determinants of health, in terms of food and water shortages and exposure to polluted air by causing greater inequities and broadening the burden of disease. In this regard, figures are self-explanatory: each year about 800.000 people die from causes attributable to urban air pollution and nearly 60.000 die in natural disasters due to heat waves, floods and droughts. Moreover, climate change brings new challenges in terms of infectious diseases’ control since vector-borne epidemics and other patterns of infections spread with the rise of temperatures and/or precipitations.

In addressing these overriding themes, Mr. Francesco Ronfini, Chair of EUREGHA, emphasised why and how European regions are called to protect their citizens’ health and well-being by preventing and tackling the ‘local’ consequences of climate change occurring at a global ‘level’. In order to protect the most vulnerable groups of population who are more likely to be exposed to the negative effects on climate change, namely, elderly people, women, the poor and children living in poverty, Mr. Ronfini stressed the importance of "strengthening the public health services".

The meeting brought together more that 60 representatives from regional and local authorities and the UK National Health Service, which is the biggest employer in Europe. Participants learnt that climate change initiatives could promote public health, provide energy cost savings, improve staff morale and even improve recovery rates.

The mitigation initiative award went to Disability Essex for the “Sustainable Centre for Disabilities” project. The Centre will provide almost all its own energy needs with the help of solar power and windmill technology and offer disabled people both a refuge and a place to learn how to adapt to climate change. Some disabled, former construction workers will have the opportunity to retrain for jobs in the eco-construction industry.

The winner of the adaption project was the Municipality of Tatabanya in Hungary, where a network of social, educational, and health care institutions are involved in implementing a Heat and UV alert plan. When the alert goes out, as it did on Monday of this week, junior school children are kept inside during the heat of the day, given more water to drink, and reminded of the other precautions they need to take.