Lord Mayor Invites Mayors from Across Europe to Attend a Major Summit in Cork Next Year on Climate and Health

03/12/2025

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Fergal Dennehy, has invited mayors from across Europe to attend a major summit in Cork next year on climate and health.

He issued the invitation on Wednesday during a keynote address to the Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health, in which he highlighted Cork’s leadership as both a WHO designated Healthy City and an EU Mission City committed to achieving climate neutrality and net zero emissions by 2030.  

In a political call to action, he announced that a summit of mayors will take place in Cork City on October 5 and 6, 2026.  

“Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from July to December 2026,” the Lord Mayor said.

“In this context, I invite Mayors from across Europe to join us in Cork City on October5 and 6, 2026 for the European Mayors’ Summit on Climate and Health. 

“Together, we will amplify city-level priorities at EU level and advance a unified agenda shaped by the recommendations of this Pan-European Commission.”

“Our health, and the health of future generations, depends on the climate decisions we make today.

“Cork stands ready to lead - together with cities across Europe - toward a healthier, more resilient, and more equitable future.”

The Commission, led by Katrín Jakobsdóttirir, the former Prime Minister of Iceland, is an independent WHO Europe expert body created to advise governments on how to protect health and strengthen resilience in the face of climate change.  

In his address on Wednesday, the Lord Mayor outlined the lived realities of climate change in a coastal city increasingly defined by its environmental vulnerabilities.

“Cork is proud of its dual role as a WHO Healthy City and an EU Mission City,” the Lord Mayor said. 

“But we are also a city experiencing first-hand the effects of a changing climate. Flooding, tidal surges, and extreme weather events are placing growing strain on our residents, our infrastructure, and our emergency services.”

The Lord Mayor described how climate pressures, ranging from poor air quality to more frequent heatwaves, are translating into diverse public health impacts, with vulnerable groups including older people, children, those with chronic illness, and households facing economic hardship the most affected.   

He emphasised that Cork has responded decisively by placing climate and health at the core of the City Development Plan.

“The urgency is clear. We must deliver solutions that reduce emissions, strengthen resilience, and enhance the well-being of our population,” the Lord Mayor said, as he highlighted several major initiatives underway in Cork including:

• A new Sustainable Healthy Food Policy, promoting nutritious, locally sourced food, supporting food producers, improving diets, and reducing emissions.
• Investment in resilient and people-centred urban spaces, including flood-resistant public areas and expanded active travel routes to promote walking and cycling.
• Air quality is a political and public health priority, with cleaner transport measures being implemented, new electric bus fleet capacity, and safer cycling infrastructure aimed at reducing respiratory illness especially among young people.

The Lord Mayor stressed the critical importance of elected leadership in driving these changes.

“Climate and health now intersect with every portfolio - housing, migration, social equity, economic development, and public health. Political leadership is essential to ensure that climate action is evidence-based, community-led, and fair,” the Lord Mayor said.

Recognising the scale and complexity of the climate challenge, the Lord Mayor emphasised the need for joint action and cooperation among European cities, and he urged cities across the region to endorse the Commission’s forthcoming recommendations and to champion integrated climate and health policies within their jurisdictions.