Ethics, Law and Governance for Climate and Environmental Action in Public Health

A free APHEA-accredited CTEE course by ASPHER and the European Climate and Health Observatory

 

Description

This free APHEA-accredited CTEE course explores the ethical, legal and governance foundations of climate and environmental action in public health. It addresses mitigation and adaptation, resilience, justice, human rights, civil liberties, communication and advocacy, with a focus on protecting health in a changing climate. Participants will engage with key debates on ethics and equity, public health law, governance structures, climate threats, health system resilience, and the role of policy in shaping fair and effective responses for communities in Europe and beyond.

 

Course description

Climate change and environmental degradation are among the defining public health challenges of our time. Their impacts are already affecting population health, health systems, equity, human rights, and the legal and ethical responsibilities of public health professionals and institutions. This course introduces participants to the ethical, legal and governance principles that underpin climate and environmental action for public health. It explores the public health mandate for action, international and European legal frameworks, civil liberties, climate justice, mitigation and adaptation policies, health system resilience, stakeholder engagement, communication, advocacy, and the role of public health professionals in advancing fair and effective responses. The course is designed to support public health professionals, students, policymakers, researchers and others working at the intersection of climate, environment and health. It will provide participants with conceptual tools, practical frameworks and applied examples to better understand how law, ethics and governance can support climate and environmental action.

 

Audience

For professionals and students working in or interested in climate and health, ethics, law and governance. All professionals interested in climate, environment and public health are welcome.

 

Session structure

The course will consist of weekly live-virtual sessions (90 minutes). There will be a live question and answer (Q&A), which will be monitored by the programme team and questions will be consolidated and addressed to expert lecturers. Most lectures will be delivered in English. Resources such as slide decks, frameworks and suggested readings will be provided to all course participants following each session. Video recordings will be available following each session for asynchronous view.

 

Language

Live course primary language: English, with live-subtitles available in French, German, Italian, Polish, Spanish...

 

Key themes

  • Ethics and equity
  • Law and policy
  • Governance
  • Human rights and justice
  • Climate threats and health systems
    Adaptation and resilience
  • Communication and advocacy
  • Public health leadership and institutional responsibility

 

Course format

The course consists of weekly live-virtual sessions. Each session will include expert input and opportunities for discussion. Resources such as slide decks, frameworks and suggested readings may be provided to course participants following each session.

 

Course details

Number of sessions: 10 sessions
Format: Live virtual course
Day: Wednesdays
Time: 16:00–18:30 CET
Course period: 23 September – 2 December 2026
Exam window: Between 3 December and 13 December 2026
Certificate: Free, certificate-based course
Accreditation: Accredited CTEE course by APHEA

Certification requirements

  • Personal certification requirements: Participants who attend >70% of the live sessions and pass the final exam with a score of >70% at the end of the course will be awarded a Certificate of Participation from ASPHER/ECHO.
  • Registration for a personal certificate initiates by registration to both, Zoom and the exam with the identical email address. Then, join each class session using the same personal unique Zoom link and complete the final exam using the email address used to initially register for the course.
  • Attendance will be automatically recorded during the live Zoom sessions, when using the personal Zoom link.
  • If registered for a personal  certification, an invitation to take part in the Exam will be sent out on the final day of class via email. The exam link activated on December, 3rd at 12:00h CET and closed on December 13th at 23:59h CET. The format of the final exam will consist of a combination of multiple choice and true/false questions and take between 30 and 60 minutes. Questions and answer options will be available only in English.  Participants should be prepared to take the exam in one sitting.

Register for the course

Register Here

Registration will open in August 2026. Please use the registration link above or QR code to sign up for the course.

Important: If you want to receive a certificate at the end of the course, your registration email address must be identical to the exam registration email address.

Final Exam

Access Exam

The final exam will take place between 3 December and 13 December 2026. The exam will assess participants’ understanding of the main ethical, legal and governance concepts covered during the course. The link above will be activated during the exam period.

Important: If you want to receive a certificate at the end of the course, your registration email address must be identical to the exam registration email address.

Evaluation

We aim to continuously improve the quality, relevance, and design of our course offerings. Therefore, we kindly ask all participants, independently of certification, to anonymously take part in a brief course evaluation consisting of approximately 10 short questions before and after the course. This will help us better understand participants’ knowledge attainment and retention, as well as gather recommendations for future improvement. Participants will be prompted to complete a baseline questionnaire at registration and a follow-up questionnaire at the end of the course. Those who consent may also receive an invitation by email to complete a 12-month follow-up evaluation.

Sessions

Description

This session introduces core concepts in climate change and health, including the definition and drivers of climate change, its direct and indirect impacts on health, and the importance of health adaptation and resilience. It also explores the health co-benefits of climate mitigation, planetary boundaries, and the role of ethics, values, law and governance in climate and environmental action.

Content

  • Climate change: definition
  • Drivers of climate change
  • Direct and indirect impacts of climate change on health
  • Health adaptation and resilience
  • Health co-benefits of climate mitigation
  • Planetary boundaries and links to climate change
  • The key role of ethics, values, law and governance for climate and environmental action

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Define climate change and identify drivers of climate change.
  • Discuss the impact of climate change on population health.
  • Define and identify health adaptation and resilience strategies.
  • Define and identify health co-benefits.
  • Discuss the links between planetary health, One Health, pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change.
  • Use health arguments for climate and environmental action.
  • Understand the relevance of ethics, values, law and governance for climate and environmental action.

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Description

This session explores the legal and ethical mandate for public health action in the context of the climate crisis. It examines professional duties, including the duty to warn and the duty to act, and considers tensions between individual liberty and population health. It also introduces the precautionary principle and the subsidiary principle in EU and national legal contexts as foundations for early intervention.

Content

  • The legal and ethical mandate for public health action
  • Professional ethics: duty to warn, duty to act, and the tension between individual liberty and population health
  • The precautionary principle and the subsidiary principle in EU and national laws as a basis for early intervention

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Define the legal and ethical basis for public health intervention in the climate crisis.
  • Identify the professional duty to act under scientific evidence or uncertainty.

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Description

This session introduces the international and European legal and policy landscape for climate and environmental action. It covers the architecture of EU climate law, the European Green Deal, Fit for 55, serious cross-border threats to health regulation, infectious disease reporting, environmental law as public health law, compliance and enforcement, and relevant international frameworks including the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.

Content

  • The architecture of EU climate law: European Green Deal, Fit for 55, Serious Cross-Border Threats to Health regulation, and reporting of infectious diseases to ECDC
  • Environmental law as public health law: Air Quality Directives and the Environmental Liability Directive
  • Compliance and enforcement: the European Commission’s role in monitoring public health legal transposition and enforcement by Member States
  • UNFCCC, the Paris Agreement and other applicable international laws and frameworks for policy and action

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the architecture of policy development and international and EU law governing climate action and environmental protection.
  • Evaluate the legal obligations placed on European Member States to protect and promote public health and links to other obligations locally, regionally and internationally.

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Description

This session applies public health ethical frameworks to climate-health action. It explores intergenerational equity, solidarity, climate justice and ethical challenges related to public health interventions, including mandatory evacuation and resource prioritisation. The session also considers how public health duties can be balanced with civil and political rights, including freedom of assembly and freedom of speech.

Content

  • Core public health ethical frameworks applied to climate crises
  • Ethical concepts: intergenerational equity, global and regional solidarity, and climate justice
  • Ethical challenges of public health interventions, including mandatory evacuation and resource prioritisation
  • Balancing public health duties with civil and political rights, including freedom of assembly and freedom of speech

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Apply core public health ethical frameworks to climate decision-making.
  • Analyse the need to respect and protect fundamental civil liberties during climate response.

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Description

This session focuses on justice, equity, human rights and the right to health in climate and environmental policy. It examines the rights to health and to a healthy environment, climate-related rulings and advisory opinions, unequal impacts of climate change within and between countries, universal health coverage, and European and international policy frameworks relevant to climate justice and international cooperation.

Content

  • Justice and equity in a climate context
  • The rights to health and to a healthy environment
  • European Court of Human Rights rulings, including KlimaSeniorinnen v. Switzerland, and national legal obligations
  • International Court of Justice and other advisory boards, UN human rights and environmental law
  • The unequal impact of climate change within and between countries
  • Universal health coverage and climate change
  • European and international policy frameworks, including the EU Global Health Strategy 2022–2030, the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, and duties of international assistance and cooperation under UN treaty and customary international law

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Analyse legal and human rights instruments to achieve climate justice.
  • Evaluate the use of the rights to health and to a healthy environment in contemporary climate and related litigation.
  • Identify vulnerable populations within countries.
  • Identify vulnerable countries and duties of international assistance and cooperation.
  • Discuss the imperative to implement sustainable universal health coverage.

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Description

This session explores mitigation strategies and the legal, policy, governance and ethical trade-offs associated with them. It considers legal tools for decarbonisation in transport, energy and housing, ethical trade-offs such as energy poverty and displacement, the role of Health Impact Assessments, and prevention and health promotion as climate mitigation strategies.

Content

  • Legal tools for decarbonisation in transport, energy and housing, including building codes and carbon pricing
  • Ethical trade-offs of mitigation policies, including energy poverty and displacement
  • Legal mandates for Health Impact Assessments to embed health and equity in mitigation policy
  • Prevention and health promotion as mitigation strategies for climate change

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Evaluate legal and policy levers for achieving climate goals while managing ethical trade-offs and equity concerns.
  • Analyse the ethical trade-offs of mitigation policies.
  • Discuss the unequal impact of mitigation policies.
  • Discuss the positive and negative impacts of mitigation policies on the wider environment, including air pollution and biodiversity.

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Description

This session examines governance structures and ethical processes for environmental and climate action. It considers commercial determinants of health, conflicts of interest, fossil fuel industry lobbying and litigation, the policy cycle, inter-ministerial and cross-sectoral planning, stakeholder engagement and the embedding of ethical deliberation in responses to climate change and pollution.

Content

  • Commercial determinants of health and implications for environmental and climate action
  • Conflicts of interest and implications for climate change
    Fossil fuel industry lobbying and litigation
  • The policy cycle as a legal and ethical process: legal drafting, enforcement and evaluation
  • Mechanism design: legal basis for inter-ministerial working groups and cross-sectoral planning
  • Ethical stakeholder engagement and managing conflicts of interest in policy development
  • Embedding ethics deliberation in response to climate change and pollution
  • Climate change, polycrisis and public health

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the role of commercial determinants of health and conflicts of interest in environmental and climate action.
  • Discuss the impacts of fossil fuel industry lobbying and litigation on climate negotiations and policymaking.
  • Analyse the policy cycle in the context of climate change.
  • Discuss the process of integrating climate-health considerations into national and local policies, focusing on transparency and ethical collaboration.
  • Understand climate change, polycrisis and public health as connected governance challenges.

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Description

This session focuses on climate adaptation and resilience in health systems. It examines legal requirements for climate-proofing health infrastructure and supply chains, upskilling the health workforce, ethical principles for resource allocation during acute crises, and governance and liability in disaster preparedness and response planning.

Content

  • Legal requirements for climate-proofing health infrastructure and supply chains and upskilling the health workforce
  • Ethical resource allocation principles: triage, priority setting, and rationing of medical and public health resources during acute crises
  • Governance and liability in disaster preparedness and response plans, including the definition of legal authority

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Design strategies for building climate-resilient health systems, focusing on infrastructure and workforce legal requirements and the ethical allocation of scarce resources.
  • Analyse how ethical considerations apply to emergency prevention, preparedness, response and recovery plans.
  • Discuss health inequalities in emergency preparedness and response, considering vulnerability and the ability to prepare for and respond to climate-driven events.

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Description

This session explores the role of public health professionals in communication and advocacy for climate action. It considers professional responsibilities in advocating for political action, legal and ethical boundaries of advocacy, protection of freedoms of association, speech and assembly, risk communication ethics, legal compliance in public statements, and distinctions between lobbying, scientific advice and political advocacy.

Content

  • Public health advocacy: the professional’s role in advocating for political action to address climate change
  • Legal and ethical boundaries of advocacy: protecting freedoms of association, speech and assembly during public health campaigning, advocacy and political protest
  • Risk communication ethics and legal compliance in public statements
  • Distinguishing lobbying, scientific advice and direct political advocacy in the European context

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Understand and strengthen the role of professionals in advocating for political action to address climate change at local, national and supranational levels.
  • Acknowledge the importance of freedoms of association, speech and assembly in climate and related advocacy.

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Description

The final session brings together the course’s core themes and focuses on the mission, mandate and role of public health professionals and institutions in addressing the climate crisis. It examines the generation and use of data, intelligence and evidence for climate and environmental action, including litigation, and considers the links between climate change, polycrisis and health.

Content

  • The mission, mandate and role of public health professionals and institutions
  • Generating and delivering data, intelligence and evidence for climate and environmental action
  • Links between climate change, polycrisis and health and the need for partnership

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Outline the mission, mandate and role of public health professionals and institutions in addressing the climate crisis.
  • Explain the relevance of and options for generating and presenting evidence for climate and environmental action, including for litigation.
  • Appreciate the nature of the climate emergency, the role of ethics, values, law and governance, and options for action by public health professionals and institutions.

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Sponsors

Contact

For any inquiries, please contact:

office@aspher.org

 

Authors

This course was conceptualised and implemented by an interdisciplinary team of public health, climate, ethics, law and governance experts:

Eric P. Twomey, MD, MPH, ASPHER Fellow of Climate and Planetary Health
Chiara Cadeddu, MD, PhD, Professor at Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management
Ana-Catarina Pinho-Gomes, MD, PhD, MPH, Public Health Consultant at University College London
David Patterson, LLM, MSc, University of Groningen
Farhang Tazib, MD, Public Health Ethics and Law Network, Global Network for Academic Public Health
Laurent Chambaud, MD, MSc, Professor Emeritus, ASPHER Senior Lead of Climate and Planetary Health