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

To examine the current status and potential for further integration of climate and health policies in Germany, we conducted and analyzed interviews with stakeholders working on climate change, health, and related areas from various sectors including government, healthcare, academia, and advocacy organizations. We found general agreement among participants that climate and health policies should be more closely integrated, though health stakeholders emphasized this need more urgently compared to climate actors. Most participants saw potential benefits in further integration, including maximizing co-benefits for climate action and public health outcomes, and potentially increasing public support for climate policies through a health lens. Among the identified barriers to further integration were: limited financial and human resources; challenges in intersectoral collaboration; complex governance structures; lack of perceived urgency and attention; short-term electoral cycles; weak science-to-policy interface; and insufficient focus on prevention. Opportunities for advancement included: integrating climate considerations into health sector reforms and vice versa, political elections and global challenges as windows of opportunity and leveraging co-benefits of climate action for health. Strategies recommended to improve integration comprised: enhancing joint working across ministries and sectors; redirecting harmful subsidies; strengthening the evidence-to-policy nexus; implementing binding legislative requirements; improving communication strategies; and focusing on socially equitable climate policies. We explore potential implications for national policy-makers, actors in the health sector, researchers, funders, and advocacy organizations to systematically integrate climate and health considerations into Germany's policy agenda.