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Climate change does not affect health through a single exposure. Extreme heat, air pollution, drought and other climate-related pressures interact with environmental, occupational, social and behavioural factors throughout our lives. HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-ENVHLTH-02: “Integrating climate-related exposures into the human exposome and characterising its changes in response to climate change” asks researchers to capture this complexity through the climate exposome.

With a total indicative budget of €45 million, this Research and Innovation Action (RIA) is expected to fund around four projects, with an anticipated EU contribution of €10 to €11 million per project. Following the recently published official Horizon Europe Cluster 1 Health Work Programme 2026-2027, applicants should plan for the 17 February 2027 single-stage deadline. Below, we outline the main requirements from the call topic and how to address those in the proposal.

Call topic	Type of Action	Budget (EUR million)	Budget/project	Exp. number of funded projects
HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-ENVHLTH-02: Integrating climate-related exposures into the human exposome and characterising its changes in response to climate change	RIA	45.00	€ 10 to 11 million	4

The climate exposome goes beyond individual environmental risks

The exposome covers the totality of exposures and their interactions experienced throughout a person’s lifetime. This includes chemical, physical, biological, nutritional and psychosocial factors from conception onwards. The challenge identified by the European Commission is that climate-related factors remain underrepresented in large-scale human exposome studies. Climate change can amplify established exposures or interact with them, changing both the exposome itself and its health implications.

Projects should therefore consider multiple dimensions together, including:

• direct and indirect climate-related exposures;
• environmental exposures;
• social and occupational exposures;
• behavioural and lifestyle factors;
• climate-relevant social determinants of health;
• resulting health outcomes and disease burden.

Tip: Avoid building the proposal around one climate hazard in isolation. Show how climate-related exposures interact with other components of the exposome and why studying these interactions is necessary to understand health impacts.

Three activities are required from every project

The scope of HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-ENVHLTH-02 is particularly explicit about what applicants must deliver. Research actions should include all three of the following activities:

• Integrate multiple climate exposures into exposomics studies: Applicants should investigate how these exposures interact with other exposome factors and influence disease burden.
• Predict and monitor changes in the exposome: This includes environmental, social and occupational exposures resulting from climate-related pressures, with the aim of identifying emerging health risks as well as potential health benefits.
• Advance exposome data science: Projects should improve data generation, analysis, integration and interpretation, including novel approaches such as AI and machine learning and the use of Real-World Data.

Tip: Make the three mandatory activities visible in your objectives and work plan. Evaluators should not have to search across work packages to determine whether each requirement has been addressed.

Choose targeted activities that reinforce one research story

Beyond the mandatory elements, applicants should address several additional targeted activities. The Work Programme provides considerable flexibility, but these activities should strengthen the same overarching research question rather than become separate research strands. The call therefore leaves room for different scientific approaches, but the connections between climate, exposures and health outcomes need to remain clear.

Projects can, for example:

• investigate biological pathways and mechanisms linking the exposome to health impacts;
• use longitudinal cohorts combining exposome, medical, omics and biological data;
• identify indicators and biomarkers for exposome-related health risks and potential benefits;
• develop standardised metrics for reporting exposome-driven disease burden;
• strengthen existing exposome toolboxes by incorporating climate-related exposures;
• investigate how socioeconomic, demographic and behavioural factors shape exposure patterns;
• identify disproportionately affected populations and develop interventions to reduce health disparities.

Tip: Select targeted activities because they strengthen your central hypothesis, not simply because your consortium has the expertise to deliver them. Each activity should help explain how climate change modifies the exposome and what this means for human health.

Data integration and existing infrastructures matter

The EC expects projects to build on existing knowledge, data and tools generated through previous and ongoing initiatives, including the European Human Exposome Network (EHEN), the International Human Exposome Network (IHEN), ICOS ERIC and EIRENE RI. Applicants are also encouraged to consider relevant European research infrastructures in the environment, climate and health domains.

Tip: Map the European exposome landscape before designing your data strategy. Explain what your project will reuse, what genuine gaps require new data generation and how your outputs will remain accessible and useful beyond the project.

Conclusion: connect climate data to meaningful health evidence

HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-ENVHLTH-02 is ambitious because it asks projects to connect multiple layers of evidence. Climate exposures need to be integrated with environmental, social, occupational and behavioural factors, then linked to health outcomes in ways that generate useful knowledge for researchers, policymakers, healthcare professionals and the public.

Strong proposals will therefore need more than large datasets or sophisticated analytical methods. They should explain how the different components form one coherent climate exposome approach, how existing European resources will be leveraged and how the resulting evidence can help identify emerging risks, vulnerable populations and opportunities to reduce health inequalities.

With the 17 February 2027 deadline approaching, potential consortia should start aligning their cohorts, infrastructures, exposomics expertise, climate science, health research and SSH capabilities early.