Advancing Climate Change and Health Policies in Germany: Insights from National Policy Stakeholders

The document examines the limited integration of health and climate policies in Germany, identifying systemic barriers such as financial constraints, federal governance complexities, and a weak science-to-policy interface. It highlights opportunities for synergy within health sector reforms and the untapped potential of climate-health co-benefits. Stakeholders recommend strengthening intersectoral collaboration, implementing binding legislative requirements, and improving the evidence base to achieve socially just and effective climate-health policies.

• There is a consensus among stakeholders that climate and health policies in Germany lack sufficient integration, with health actors expressing a greater sense of urgency than climate actors. While health stakeholders favor a "health in all policies" approach, climate actors prioritize mainstreaming climate policies into other sectors.
• Significant barriers to policy integration include limited financial and human resources, challenges in intersectoral collaboration, and a federal governance structure that complicates decision-making and communication. Additionally, short-term electoral cycles and economic interests often override long-term climate and health benefits.
• The science-to-policy interface is considered weak, hampered by a lack of reliable indicators and data. Furthermore, a tendency to focus on pilot projects rather than systemic solutions and a lack of focus on prevention undermine effective policy implementation.
• Opportunities for advancement exist in current health sector reforms, such as hospital restructuring and the potential establishment of a new national public health agency. There is also significant untapped potential in co-benefits, including reduced air pollution and increased active mobility.
• Proposed strategies to improve integration include loosening government debt limits, redirecting harmful subsidies, creating joint sectoral budgets, and introducing binding legislative requirements for climate mitigation in the health sector.

APA

Gepp, S., van de Pas, R., Voss, M., Baltruks, D., Sievert, G., & Mirow, J. (2025). Advancing Climate Change and Health Policies in Germany: Insights from National Policy Stakeholders. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/advancing-and-integrating-climate-and-health-policies-in-germany/

Chicago

Gepp, Sophie, Remco van de Pas, Maike Voss, Dorothea Baltruks, Greta Sievert, and Juliane Mirow. Advancing Climate Change and Health Policies in Germany: Insights from National Policy Stakeholders. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2025. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/advancing-and-integrating-climate-and-health-policies-in-germany/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gepp |first1=Sophie |last2=van de Pas |first2=Remco |last3=Voss |first3=Maike |last4=Baltruks |first4=Dorothea |last5=Sievert |first5=Greta |last6=Mirow |first6=Juliane |title=Advancing Climate Change and Health Policies in Germany: Insights from National Policy Stakeholders |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |date=17 March 2025 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/advancing-and-integrating-climate-and-health-policies-in-germany/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gepp2025advancing, author = {Gepp, Sophie and van de Pas, Remco and Voss, Maike and Baltruks, Dorothea and Sievert, Greta and Mirow, Juliane}, title = {{Advancing Climate Change and Health Policies in Germany: Insights from National Policy Stakeholders}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2025}, month = mar, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/advancing-and-integrating-climate-and-health-policies-in-germany/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }