AIR POLLUTION AND WEATHER-RELATED HEALTH IMPACTS: METHODOLOGICAL STUDY BASED ON SPATIO-TEMPORALLY DISAGGREGATED MULTI-POLLUTANT MODELS
Lead Research Organisation:
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Department Name: Public Health and Policy
Abstract
There is a large and convincing body of epidemiological evidence linking short term exposure to outdoor air pollutants to adverse health effects. However, most of this evidence is derived from studies that have linked single pollutants to health in urban environments. There is increasing recognition that greater protection against the adverse health effects of air pollution could be achieved by focusing research and policy not on individual pollutants, but by a multi-pollutant approach. Furthermore, the spatial variation in pollutant concentrations and their health impacts, especially in rural areas and areas outside the larger cities where much of the UK population reside, are not-well established. Socio-economic impacts (and related issues of environmental justice) and other geographically-determined factors, including housing characteristics (indoor pollution), are also potential modifiers of exposure to outdoor air pollution. The increasing complexity of the scientific inquiry is matched by the difficulties of formulating, proving and implementing appropriate regulatory policy. This proposal builds upon an existing collaboration between researchers in the environmental and health disciplines, with the addition of investigators and practitioners from the policy and social science fields. Our proposal aims to provide new epidemiological evidence on the health impacts of exposure to multiple pollutants; to examine the implications of such evidence for regulation and control of air quality; and to assess how uncertainties in evidence affect its translation into actionable evidence-based policies and the evaluation of their costs and benefits. There are several unique innovations in our study: 1) the development of long series of high resolution (5 km) datasets for daily concentrations of a range of pollutants and weather data, linked to geo-referenced health data including daily mortality, hospital admissions and data on heart attacks; 2) an examination of the contribution of the indoor environment as a modifier of exposure to outdoor pollutants to provide an integrated assessment of the risks to health of short term exposure to air pollution; 3) an integrated assessment of the health effects of various near-term future air quality and climate policies in 2030 as well as selected emissions reduction policies for the UK; 4) the development of a 'decision analysis' tool that includes assessment of uncertainties and can be used to infer the likely outcomes of these various policy choices.
Organisations
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (Lead Research Organisation)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Project Partner)
- Norwegian Meteorological Institute (Project Partner)
- St George's, University of London (Project Partner)
- KTN - Energy Generation and Supply (Project Partner)
- Aeroqual Ltd. (Project Partner)
- Public Health England (Project Partner)
- Turnkey Instruments Ltd. (Project Partner)
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Project Partner)
- NERC CEH (Up to 30.11.2019) (Project Partner)
- Met Office (Project Partner)
- Rdscientific (Project Partner)
Publications
Anna Mavrogianni (Author)
(2013)
Assessing heat-related thermal discomfort and indoor pollutant exposure risk in purpose-built flats in an urban area
Anna Mavrogianni (Author)
(2014)
A coupled summer thermal comfort and indoor air quality model of urban high-rise housing
Butland BK
(2013)
Measurement error in time-series analysis: a simulation study comparing modelled and monitored data.
in BMC medical research methodology
Chalabi Z
(2017)
Applying air pollution modelling within a multi-criteria decision analysis framework to evaluate UK air quality policies
in Atmospheric Environment
Emma Garnett (Author)
(2013)
Understanding 'air pollution' from an inter-disciplinary perspective
Garnett E
(2017)
Enacting toxicity: epidemiology and the study of air pollution for public health
in Critical Public Health
Garnett E
(2019)
Materialising links between air pollution and health: How societal impact was achieved in an interdisciplinary project.
in Health (London, England : 1997)
Garnett E
(2020)
Breathing Spaces: Modelling Exposure in Air Pollution Science
in Body & Society
| Title | Invisible heat: 'Deep above' by Adam Chodzko |
| Description | Through our research on climate change and health, I supported an artwork initiative curated by Alice Sharp with initial funding from the Wellcome Trust, to develop artworks relating to climate change. One of the outputs of this initiative was a film by Adam Chodzko about psychology and climate change called 'Deep Above'. It premiered at the Watershed, Bristol, November 2015 alongside a series of debates and workshops. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2015 |
| Impact | The film has been taken on tour around the UK with screenings accompanied by debates with panels of artists, academics and scientists. These debates have focused on questions such as "The role of art and artists in considering climate change?" and "Can psychology help us to accept and act on the scientific evidence on climate change? The impact is impossible to quantify but it has helped raise debate about scientific evidence among new audiences. |
| URL | http://invisibledust.com/project/adam-chodzko-deep-above/ |
| Description | The key findings of relevance to public policy may be summarized follows: Air pollution exposure and impacts • Analyses of the sources of pollution show that, for particles of maximum aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) - those which are thought to carry the main risk for health - emissions from power generation and transport sectors are both major contributors, as is combustion in the non-industrial sector. But the largest contribution to PM2.5 air pollution across the UK overall (based on spatial average) is from the agriculture sector (relating to use of fertilizers, land management etc). Action in all these sectors is therefore important for control of particle pollution. • Although agriculture is the largest contributor to PM2.5 concentrations spatially, it is less important a source of primary particles (i.e. those directly released into the atmosphere by wind, combustion processes, or human activities) as opposed to secondary particles derived from the oxidation of primary gases such as sulphur and nitrogen oxides into sulfuric acid and nitric acid. • The importance of the transport sector is accentuated by the proximity of populations to emissions from this sector especially in urban areas, and they are also important for nitrogen oxides (NOx), comprising nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide. There is emerging evidence that nitrogen dioxide may carry risks for health that are independent of those attributable to particle components of air pollution. Although the evidence does not allow precise quantification of this NO2-related health risk, it gives greater importance to action to control emissions from motor vehicles, especially diesel cars and lorries. • Reduction of air pollutant emissions from industrial, non-industrial, transport and agriculture sources appear likely to increase atmospheric concentrations of ozone (O3), largely as a result of the reduced 'titration effect' of nitrogen dioxide (the atmospheric chemical reactions that breakdown O3). In consequence, emissions control policies over coming years are likely to exacerbate the exposure of human populations to ozone, rather than to reduce it. • Climate change alone is likely to have only modest impacts on atmospheric pollution unless accompanied by changes in emission sources (a small effect on PM2.5, some modest local increases in NOx which may titrate more ozone, mixed effects on coarse particle fractions), but models suggest the potential for substantial increases in temperatures, especially during summer months in southern Britain: some models indicate mean July temperatures that increase by as much as 6 or 7 degrees Celsius under high emissions trajectories - which would represent a substantial hazard for public health. Exposure patterns with socio-economic deprivation • Most pollutants show a gradient of higher exposure with increasing socio-economic deprivation across the UK, although the variations based on 5x5 km grid average pollution levels are relatively modest (mainly a few percent difference between the least and most deprived deciles of the population). NOx, total PM2.5, primary PM2.5, and elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) all show clear increases in concentration with greater SE-deprivation, with the greatest increases in PM2.5, primary PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations occurring from the middle of the deprivation distribution to the most deprived deciles. Ozone shows an inverse relationship with socio-economic deprivation. • Modelling the effect of the sectoral emission sources suggests that control policies will have little effect on the socio-economic gradient in exposure patterns, and in many cases are likely to lead to a small increase in the gradient even though overall air pollution burdens would be reduced including for the most deprived populations. • Populations in the most deprived decile of the population are estimated to have 4% greater years of life lost due to PM2.5 exposure than the least deprived group experienced. This effect is likely to be exacerbated by the higher underlying disease rates in the more socio-economically disadvantaged groups, which, in consequence carry an appreciably larger air pollution disease burden in absolute terms than less deprived groups. Health risks • Analyses of data from the AWESOME project on the health effects of short term exposure to particle pollution and its components suggest generally weak (and generally statistically insignificant) relationships with health outcomes. They do not add appreciably to the existing evidence base. They do however provide some mixed evidence for the adverse effects of nitrogen dioxide in relation to the risk of admission to hospital with heart attacks or other acute myocardial ischaemia. • Analyses do confirm clear evidence for temperature related risks, however. An important new finding based on linkage of housing characteristics to epidemiological data is that vulnerability to heat risk appears to depend on the characteristics of the home in which you live. People who live in dwellings that are predicted to be more likely to overheat (have relatively high indoor temperatures during hot weather) carry an appreciably greater risk of mortality attributable to heat, especially during more extreme heat. This suggests potential for adaptations to dwellings to reduce heat exposure and associated risks to health. • Further modelling work suggests that dwelling characteristics are appreciably more important that the urban heat island effect in determining population vulnerability to heat. Housing as a determinant of exposure to outdoor air pollution • Our research provided evidence that built form and building envelope characteristics of dwellings (the exposed external surface area, the internal volume, the permeability of the building fabric etc) appreciably alter the infiltration of outdoor pollution into the indoor environment. In London, older detached and semidetached dwellings had the highest indoor/outdoor pollutant ratios, modern purpose-built flats the lowest. • Because of such differences in the ingress of outdoor pollution into the home, the dwelling form has a potentially important influence on human exposure to particle and other outdoor air pollutants, with differences of around 50% between the least and most 'leaky' dwellings. • Such differences suggest that interventions aimed at altering the ventilation characteristics of dwellings may offer important opportunities for protecting against air pollution. However, care is need to balance the effects of protection against outdoor pollution with impacts on exposure from sources of exposure inside the home, which would increase with increased air tightness. |
| Exploitation Route | The findings above have relevance to pollution control policies in many sectors of the economy (energy, housing, transport, agriculture etc) and suggest potentially important foci for action, including housing design and adaptations. These are relevant to government and multiple other sectors. The evidence on temperature-related risks emphasize the importance of addressing vulnerability under climate change and provide specific evidence for action in relation to housing. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Communities and Social Services/Policy,Construction,Education,Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Transport |
| Description | The results of the AWESOME project, both with respect to air pollution and climate impacts, have been discussed with policy makers at various levels, including the UK government, the GLA (informing aspects of the London Plan) and internationally. Research carried out for the AWESOME project also made a substantial contribution to the development of the Health Impacts of Domestic Energy Efficiency Measures (HIDEEM) tool for the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). This included the construction of micro-environmental stock models to quantify indoor environmental conditions and calculate the monetary value of the health impact associated with energy efficiency changes in the housing stock. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2013 |
| Sector | Construction,Energy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | Air pollution, pollen, asthma and hay fever and their interactive effect on cognitive development |
| Amount | £110,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | R8/H12/83/NE/P010660/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2017 |
| End | 12/2017 |
| Description | Air pollution, pollen, asthma and hayfever and their interactive effect on cognitive development: environment & health data linkage feasibility study |
| Amount | £109,851 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/P010660/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2016 |
| End | 10/2017 |
| Description | Assessing Mitigation Pathways to Realise Public Health Benefits of Air Pollutant Emission Reductions from Agriculture (AMPHoRA) |
| Amount | £87,568,905 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NIHR129440 |
| Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2020 |
| End | 09/2022 |
| Description | Atmospheric Pollution and Human Health in a Developing Megacity. Air pollution impacts on cardiopulmonary disease in Beijing: an integrated study of exposure science, toxicogenetics, and environmental epidemiology |
| Amount | £390,973 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/N007182/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2016 |
| End | 12/2019 |
| Description | Climate Resilience of Care Settings |
| Amount | £251,957 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/S016767/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2019 |
| End | 01/2020 |
| Description | Evidence for policy action on health and climate change |
| Amount | $996,722 (USD) |
| Funding ID | R-2008-05023 |
| Organisation | Children's Investment Fund Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2021 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Description | Health Protection Research Unit -- Environmental Change |
| Amount | £3,956,896 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NIHR200909 |
| Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2020 |
| End | 03/2025 |
| Description | Health Protection Research Unit on Environmental Change and Health (Kovats et al) |
| Amount | £2,000,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2014 |
| End | 03/2019 |
| Description | Health and economic impacts of urban heat islands and greenspace |
| Amount | £518,125 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 216035/Z/19/Z |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2020 |
| End | 09/2023 |
| Description | Health and economic impacts of urban heat islands and greenspace |
| Amount | £499,962 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 216035/Z/19/Z |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2020 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Description | Our Planet, Our Health |
| Amount | £5,130,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2018 |
| End | 01/2022 |
| Description | Our Planet, Our Health |
| Amount | £149,988 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 205207 |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2016 |
| End | 11/2017 |
| Description | The health and equity impacts of climate change mitigation measures on indoor and outdoor air pollution exposure (HEICCAM) |
| Amount | £507,898 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/V002090/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2020 |
| End | 08/2023 |
| Description | Warmth & Wellbeing pilot |
| Amount | € 119,792 (EUR) |
| Organisation | Irish Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Ireland |
| Start | 04/2016 |
| End | 03/2020 |
| Description | Wellcome Trust Sustaining Health: Optmization of health and sustainability goals for low income housing (Optihouse) |
| Amount | £269,041 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 106895/Z/15/Z |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2015 |
| End | 03/2018 |
| Description | Wellcome Trust Sustaining Health: Sustainable Healthy Urban Environments (SHUE) |
| Amount | £261,037 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 103908 |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2014 |
| End | 04/2017 |
| Title | Methods for quantifying temperature-health relationships |
| Description | Contribution to the advancement of methods for quantifying temperature-health impact relationships |
| Type Of Material | Model of mechanisms or symptoms - mammalian in vivo |
| Year Produced | 2013 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Contribution to the scientific methods deployed for characterizing heat and cold-related impacts |
| Title | Model of the health impact of housing characteristics and health |
| Description | A model of the relationship between dwelling characteristics/adaptations, the indoor environment and health. Initiated by research funded by Department of Energy and Climate Change, but substantially developed, extended and applied through subsequent projects. Main application is to examine the potential impact of energy efficiency and similar interventions on human exposures. Based on combination of building physics and health impact models. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Has been used by the Department of Energy and Climate Change in analysis of policy options relating to the health impact associated with energy efficiency changes in the housing stock. Has also been integrated with the National Household Model (NHM) run by the Centre for Sustainable Energy. Results from the model have helped to characterize the importance of housing characteristics as a modifier of exposure to outdoor pollutants, and as modifiers of vulnerability to outdoor temperature during periods of heat and cold. |
| Description | 2015 Annual UK Review Meeting on Outdoor and Indoor Air Pollution Research |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Annual meeting (jointly sponsored by NERC) to discuss air pollution research attended by researchers, officials from government departments, local authority representatives and others. Also included open meeting on Health Impact Assessment for air pollution. Sparked discussion about the implications of key messages. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | A virtual event (webinar) organized by the Public Policy Exchange addressing Cold weather planning: how to protect the most vulnerable and the NHS |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was teh second online public event organized by the Public Policy Exchange aimed at debating responses to cold weather and health in the UK, specifically to: Evaluate the extent to which the Cold Weather Plan can achieve its original objectives and identify gaps and room for further legislative initiatives Discuss how fuel poverty can be tackled and what steps government, local authorities and other stakeholders should take to do so Explore the impact of Covid-19 on cold weather planning and discuss preventative measures Develop effective strategies for protecting and supporting the most vulnerable from, both, a national and regional perspective Analyse the regional and socio-economic inequalities which are present in current efforts to address Cold Weather Planning Highlight the significance of strong local leadership and partnership working across the public, private, voluntary and community sectors to tackle the issue Share best practice on strengthening responses to reduce excess winter illness and death Identify key indicators to help the most vulnerable at the earliest |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.publicpolicyexchange.co.uk/ |
| Description | Climate Change Mitigation and Health Benefits -- An FCDO-organized UK-Italy workshop in preparation for COP26 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This was a workshop, organized by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office in collaboration with the government of Italy, to discuss policies to tackle climate change impact and to communicate climate action to the public. The workshop aimed to foster cooperation and exchange of policy best practices between Italy and the UK as a partnership in preparation for COP26 (The UN CLimate Change conference of the parties). The outcome was an agenda presented to the Italian and British governments in pursuit of their shared goals for the COP26 meeting. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Climate change and its impact on lung health: a focus on Europe |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | This was an advisory meeting convened by the Economist Intelligence Unit to inform its work on climate change and health. It entailed review of current evidence about climate change and respiratory health and consideration of policy implications, aiming to inform the Economist's publications in this domain. Resulted in a White paper published by the Economist (file:///C:/Users/PPEHPWIL/Downloads/climate-change-and-its-impact-on-lung-health-a-focus-on-europe.pdf). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://impact.economist.com/sustainability/social-sustainability/climate-change-and-its-impact-on-l... |
| Description | Commons Select Committee Hearing on DEFRA role in tackling air quality |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This was a Hearing of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, considering the role of DEFRA's strategy in tackling air pollution. I was one of three academic researchers who made presentations (mainly about our recent research but also on the field more generally tailored to current debates) and answered questions from Committee members, as well as providing written evidence. Not possible to interpret whether there has been discernible impact on policy positions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/environment-food-and-rura... |
| Description | Conference presentation: Healthy cities conference (Manchester) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation stimulated discussion and questions on urban development needs and implications for health. Interest from various audience with research and policy interest in learning more about project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | IPCC International Expert Meeting on Human Settlement and Infrastructure |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | Workshop Facilitator |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Expert group considering issues relating to climate change vulnerability and responses related to human settlements as part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change consultation process. Kolkata, March 22-24, 2011 This was an evidence gathering symposium for IPCC reports |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | International Workshop on Net Zero and Air Quality |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a two-day meeting on the implications of Net Zero pathway for climate action, focussing on the implications for outdoor and indoor air quality.Our specific contributions was on the "Risks and benefits of climate action". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | International seminar & training on sustainable urban development and healthy cities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This was an international seminar on sustainable and healthy cities, held in Beijing, 10 November 2017. Co-organized by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and National Patriotic Health Campaign Office of China, the World Health Organization(WHO) and China Center for Urban Development(CCUD), with support from Institute for China Sustainable Urbanization, Tsinghua University. Over a hundred participants joined the seminar including members of the China International Cities Development Alliance(CICAD), city mayors, representatives of the local development and reform commissions(DRCs), representatives of international organizations, well-known experts and scholars at home and abroad, and entrepreneurs, and discussed over healthy city and sustainable development planning. Debated issues relating to air pollution, climate change and other environment and health issues, and implications for public policy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.urban-eu-china.eu/en/event/2017-international-seminar-on-sustainable-and-healthy-cities-h... |
| Description | Media interview, CNN Asia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was a ten minute breakfast news interview at CNN Asia on the dual challenges of air pollution and climate change ahead of the Heads of States meeting of the Association of South East Asian (ASEAN) countries. The impact is difficult to judge, but it was intended as a contribution to public debate about key areas of public policy relating to environment and health. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Open meeting: Select Committee of the Senate of the Philippines |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This was an open hearing/debate at the Senate of the Philippines (the Philippines parliament) on Balancing Energy, Health and the Climate Challenge. It was attended by a wide array of contributors, including senators, members of the public, NGOs, industry representatives and others to discuss key policy challenges relating to air pollution, climate change and other environmental health impacts in energy, transport, agriculture and other policy areas. My participation was sponsored by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and I spoke about evidence from our UK research alongside Chairpersons of Senate Committees on Energy, Climate Change, Health and Demography, as well as representatives of the Climate Change Commission, the Environmental Management Bureau, The World Health Organization, local campaigners of Health Care Without Harm-Asia, the UK Ambassador and others. It prompted a vigorous debate about policy development in the Philippines and Asia more generally, with particular focus on the run up to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting in Paris, in November 2015. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology briefing |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This was a 90 minute briefing session hosted by the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology, at Portcullis House. The event ("Air Quality - an integrated understanding of health risks ") was chaired by Baroness Manningham-Buller, and took the form of a working breakfast where MPs and Peers were able to discuss science and policy issues relating to new knowledge on the interconnections and pathways between air pollutants and stressors, exposure routes and health effects in humans. I was one of several researchers given opportunity to speak for five minutes before answering questions, alongside DEFRA, PHE and third sector representatives. As follow-up, I was asked to attend a subsequent Select Committee hearing. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Pint of Science public engagement |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Pint of Science evening event held at 'The Astronomer', 17 May 2017, on climate change and health (and the health consequences of CC mitigation) designed to stimulate debate with the public. Attended by around 40 people to discuss what our own and more general science tells us about the needed responses to climate change and the associated implications for health, including 'co-benefits'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Policy-maker briefing, Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This was a "Road-to-Paris public coffee morning", organized jointly by the UK Embassy and local officials to discuss matters relating to health aspects of climate change and air pollution ahead of the COP21 conference, and including a lunch meeting with the Indonesian President's Special Envoy for Climate Change. I gave the 'keynote talk' about research evidence. It is impossible to judge what weight it carried in the development of government strategy, but there was wide recognition of the the potential benefits for health of more sustainable development strategies in various areas of government policy. Audience was interested in hearing new evidence about potential health gains. That does not necessarily equate with any shift in policy positions, but it probably reinforced the UK's efforts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Presentation to LWEC-sponsored event: the AWESOME project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Meeting was mainly aimed at information exchange among current reseasrchers with projects relevant to the EEHI and Living with Envrioinmental Change initiatives. There was discussion among the group about methods and emergent findings. There was interest from various workshop participants in learning more about the project and the potential implications of its findings especially for health policy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Public lecture, Manila College of Public Health |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Open lecture at the University of the Philippines Manila College of Public Health attended by university staff and students, Philippine Society of Sanitary Engineers, British Embassy staff, representatives of Health Care Without Harm and others. Engendered vigorous discussion (air pollution, energy, development). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Scientific conference presentation: associations between air pollutants and socio-economic status in England |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Presentation provoked considerable discussion with other researchers and policy groups. There was interest in exchanging findings and methods from other research groups, and requests from NGO groups in being kept informed about the work of the project and its results. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://depts.washington.edu/uwconf/isee2014/ |
| Description | Scientific conference presentation: modelling the modifying effect of homes on population exposure to outdoor pollution |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Sparked discussion on the importance of taking account of the modifying influence of housing for exposure to temperature and air pollution, and the relevance of such factors to policy interventions. Interest from other researchers in learning more about the methods. Discussion with policy makers about relevance to policy development. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://depts.washington.edu/uwconf/isee2014/ |
| Description | Symposium on climate change health impacts organized by the China Center for Disease Control and Shandong University Climate Change and Health Center on Climate change, Environment, and Health: From Risk Assessment to Action |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Shared mode (in-person and online) symposium on climate change and health aimed at debating emerging evidence and trends. International conributors and audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Webinar/online discussion side event for 5th High-level Ministerial Conference Meeting of the Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (THE PEP) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This was a side event for the 5th High-level Ministerial Conference Meeting of the Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (THE PEP). It was an online debate with international contributors and audience focusing on the topic of 'Transforming transport for health and climate protection: ensuring climate solutions for transport and mobility that are healthy and equitable'. I was a topic chair/moderator. It was a lively discussion around policy actions for climate change and health, with broad agreement on the types of actions that could benefit health and needed policy steps. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.eltis.org/participate/events/pep-2021-side-events |
| Description | Webinar/online public debate organized by the Pubic Policy Exchange on Cold wather planning |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This was the first of two debates, organized by the Public Policy Exchange, on cold weather and health. It focus was: The evolution of the Cold Weather Plan since 2011 Considerations for cold weather planning in 2021-2022 The inequalities that need to be considered in cold weather planning How sectors can cooperate for successful cold weather planning Measures that can reduce excess winter deaths |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.publicpolicyexchange.co.uk/ |