Health in the green economy: Health co-benefits of climate change mitigation: Housing sector
- Abstract
Evaluation of the health impacts of climate mitigation strategies is critical to informed decisions that will attain the greatest combined gain for health, well-being and sustainable development. This report considers the scientific evidence regarding possible health gains and, where relevant, health risks of climate change mitigation measures in the residential housing sector. The report is one in a Health in the Green Economy series led by WHO’s Department of Public Health and Environment. Other reports in the series focus on transport, household energy in developing countries, agriculture and health care facilities.The focus of analysis is mitigation measures discussed in the Fourth Assessment Reporti of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which represents the UN system’s most broad-based scientific assessment of mitigation options. The aim is thus to provide health-oriented review of mitigation strategies around which broad scientific consensus already exists as to impact and feasibility. The report documents how certain mitigation options can yield substantial co-benefits to health. Some choices, however, may be better than others in terms of health impacts, or reducing health risks. New and sometimes overlooked opportunities are also examined where health gains and sustainability objectives can be mutually reinforcing. These findings have a two-fold relevance. For the health community, they represent a major opportunity to promote “primary prevention” by informing policy-makers and the public about how better health can be obtained from economic investments in housing
- Resource Type
- Factsheet/pamphlet
- Author
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- Resource URL
- http://www.who.int/hia/hgehousing.pdf
- Date
- 2011
- Organization Type
- Other gov
- Health and Human Impact
- Overview/general
- Climate and Environmental Impact
- Overview/general
- Solution
- Climate adaptation/resilience
- Other
- Co-benefits/co-harms Economics/cost analysis