Health in the ‘Low-Carbon’ Economy

Abstract

There is growing evidence that activities to mitigate climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and other climate active pollutants, can have beneficial impacts on public health not only as a consequence of helping to limit the magnitude and speed of climate change but also, in the nearer term, as a result of changes in exposure to environmental pollution and health-related behaviors. Dietary changes, for example reductions in dietary saturated fat intake and replacement with unsaturates of plant origin, may help prevent cardiovascular and other disease risks in high-consuming populations. Transport interventions, especially those that promote active travel (increased walking and cycling), can help increase physical activity, although potentially at some additional risk of road injury, while fuel switching or more efficient vehicles could help reduce air pollution, especially in urban settings. Energy efficiency improvements to housing have the potential for positive and negative effects on indoor air quality and may help protect against the adverse health effects of low and high temperatures. Switching to low-carbon forms of electricity generation has the potential to reduce the health burdens of outdoor air pollution. Such “health co-benefits” of climate change mitigation policies provide an important additional rationale for accelerating the transition to ‘low-carbon’ economies and could help to counterbalance the inertia and vested interests that support unsustainable patterns of development.