Towards climate resilient, prepared and carbon neutral populations and healthcare systems

The grant opportunity HORIZON-HLTH is part of the Horizon Europe program and focuses on advancing climate resilience, preparedness, and carbon neutrality in healthcare systems. This initiative is positioned under the health cluster of Horizon Europe, with a total budget of €45 million for the 2026 call. The application process is open, with submissions accepted from February 10, 2026, until April 16, 2026, at 17:00 CEST, via the Funding and Tenders Portal.

Eligible applicants include a wide range of entities such as universities, research organizations, small and medium-sized enterprises, large companies, non-profits, public authorities, and healthcare providers. Notably, legal entities established in the United States are also eligible, showcasing the initiative's openness to international collaboration. A mandatory consortium of multiple applicants is required, with projects needing to participate in joint activities, thereby forming a cluster for enhanced networking and impact.

The focus of funded projects includes the development and piloting of interventions to mitigate health impacts from climate change, promoting technological advancements within healthcare, and deploying methods to assess the co-benefits of climate change adaptation strategies. Specific outcomes sought through the funding include effective frameworks for health system adaptability, the promotion of low-carbon technologies, and methodologies for evaluating the health costs related to climate adaptation. Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to scalability and transferability of their solutions, ensuring broad applicability across various healthcare settings.

The funding mechanism will be in the form of lump sum grants ranging from €7 million to €8 million for each project. Importantly, while a co-funding requirement is not explicitly mandated, proposals are expected to leverage additional resources and partnerships.

This grant opportunity aligns with broader European Commission goals such as the European Green Deal, the European Climate Adaptation Plan, and the Digital Transition agenda, making it a pivotal funding avenue for those addressing the interconnected challenges of healthcare, climate, and environment.

This is a Horizon Europe grant opportunity focused on "Towards climate resilient, prepared and carbon neutral populations and healthcare systems" under the call "Cluster 1 - Health (Single stage - 2026)". The specific topic is HORIZON-HLTH, which is a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (RIA). The grant type is a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant. The planned opening date is 10 February 2026, and the deadline for submission is 16 April 2026, 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The primary aim of this topic is to support activities that contribute to the expected impacts of creating a "Living and working in a health-promoting environment." Proposals should focus on delivering results that contribute to the following outcomes:

Supporting the healthcare sector with technological advancements and frameworks for greening, decarbonizing, and adapting to climate change, which also protects biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Providing governments, public health authorities, healthcare providers, social care services, and civil society with the best available evidence on the health costs and benefits (including co-benefits) of climate adaptation and mitigation actions and interventions.

Enabling policymakers and public authorities to develop environment, climate change, and health policies and interventions based on robust frameworks and incorporating innovative, inclusive, and accessible solutions and technologies.

Supporting governments and public health authorities in adopting robust frameworks and interventions to tackle societal challenges related to the health impacts of climatic and environmental factors.

Empowering populations with knowledge, tools, and resources to adopt health-protective behaviors and adapt to health-related climate risks.

The scope of the research activities includes:

Developing and/or piloting effective, inclusive, accessible, and impactful interventions to address the impact of climate change in healthcare systems and/or in health outcomes across populations, sectors, and regions. These interventions should aim at reducing health vulnerability and building health resilience, with consideration for the involvement of local communities and/or end-users.

Developing methodologies and analytical tools to assess the effectiveness and cost-benefit of health-related climate change adaptation interventions.

Generating evidence on the health co-benefits of climate change mitigation and proposing frameworks to quantify the magnitude of their impacts.

Developing harmonized frameworks, assessment metrics, and reporting methods to evaluate alternative mitigation strategies and interventions, as well as harmonized methodologies to assess the cost-benefit of different mitigation measures.

Exploring and estimating the impact of preventive healthcare and lifestyle practices for mitigating the impacts of climate change in the health sector and increasing the resilience and preparedness of communities.

Proposing best practices to enhance the climate resilience of healthcare infrastructures, healthcare professionals, and relevant supply chains and logistics.

Exploring and assessing the role of primary care in increasing the preparedness of communities and reducing the health impacts of climate change.

Developing low-carbon medical technologies (including medical devices) and digital solutions to reduce the emissions of GHG and pollutants (to air, water, and soil) of healthcare practices and their supply chains. Health technology assessment activities to evaluate new or alternative low carbon medical solutions may be included where appropriate.

Funded projects should ensure the scalability and transferability of developed solutions, making them actionable and applicable across different healthcare settings and community contexts. Implementation science approaches should be considered to support the relevance and broad applicability of research outcomes. Proposals should also address the broader socio-economic challenges faced by healthcare systems, such as funding challenges, workforce shortages, population ageing, and the increase of chronic diseases, and adhere to the Do No Significant Harm principle.

To maximize synergies and increase the impact of projects, all selected proposals will form a cluster and participate in common networking and joint activities. International cooperation is encouraged. Proposals should share relevant activities, outcomes, and outputs with the European Climate and Health Observatory and build on the outcomes of projects that are part of the European Climate-Health Cluster. Proposals are also encouraged to consider the data, expertise, and services offered by European research infrastructures in the environment and health domain.

The topic requires the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts and institutions. Applicants planning to include clinical studies should provide details in the dedicated annex within the submission system.

Admissibility conditions are described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Proposal page limits and layout are described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Legal entities established in the United States of America are eligible to receive Union funding. If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS. Other eligibility conditions are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

The thresholds for each criterion will be 4 (Excellence), 4 (Impact) and 4 (Implementation). The cumulative threshold will be 12.

All proposals selected for funding from this topic will form a cluster and be required to participate in common networking and joint activities (and in determining modalities for their implementation and the specific responsibilities of projects). These activities will be included in a dedicated work package, having sufficient budget allocated to it (around 2% of the total requested budget). Depending on the scope of proposals selected for funding, these activities may include: Attendance of regular joint meetings (e.g. common kick-off meeting and annual meetings), Periodic report of joint activities (delivered at each reporting period), Common dissemination and communication activities (which may include, for example: a common dissemination and communication strategy, web portal and visual identity, brochure, newsletters), Common Data Management Strategy and Common Policy Strategy (including joint policy briefs), Thematic workshops/trainings on issues of common interest, Working groups on topics of common interest (e.g. data management and exchange, communication and dissemination, science-policy link, scientific synergies).

The granting authority may, up to 4 years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or to the exclusive licensing of results, as set out in the specific provision of Annex 5.

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025). Legal and financial set-up of the grants are described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

The budget overview includes several topics:

There are partner search announcements available. The submission system is planned to be opened on the date stated on the topic header.

In summary, this Horizon Europe funding opportunity aims to foster research and innovation that will lead to climate-resilient, prepared, and carbon-neutral healthcare systems and populations. It seeks to address the environmental impact of the healthcare sector while simultaneously improving public health and resilience in the face of the climate crisis. The call encourages the development of low-carbon technologies, effective interventions, and robust frameworks that can be widely applied and contribute to a healthier and more sustainable future. Successful projects will form a cluster to maximize synergies and impact, and international cooperation is highly encouraged.