The Lancet Countdown is an independent, international, and multidisciplinary collaboration that monitors the health impacts of climate change, and progress – or lack thereof – in the world’s response. Over 120 leading experts from academic institutions and UN agencies across the globe, including climate scientists, engineers, energy specialists, economists, political scientists, public health professionals and doctors, work together to ensure that health is at the centre of how governments understand and respond to climate change.

Each year, The Lancet Countdown findings are published in the medical journal The Lancet ahead of the UN climate change negotiations. Their data makes clear how climate change is affecting our health, the consequences of delayed action and the immense benefits for human health of a robust response that would bring cleaner air, healthier diets, and more liveable cities.

The Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) hosts the European regional center of the Lancet Countdown, a transdisciplinary research collaboration whose mission is to monitor health and climate change in the European region. Building on the work of the global Lancet Countdown and other regions, it leverages on the wealth of data and cross disciplinary expertise in Europe, to develop high-resolution Europe-specific indicators that explore in further depth aspects of relevance to the region. 

The initiative mirrors the approach of the global Lancet Countdown and monitors health dimensions of climate change in Europe across five key domains: i) climate change impacts; exposures, and vulnerability; ii) adaptation planning and resilience for health; iii) mitigation actions and health co-benefits; iv) economics and finance; and v) politics and governance. Indicators are refined on an annual basis as new data and better methods become available.