The health and equity impacts of climate change mitigation measures on indoor and outdoor air pollution exposure (HEICCAM)

2019年的《气候变化法案》承诺，英国将在2050年前将温室气体排放量降至净零。2019年英国清洁空气战略将“空气污染视为英国最大的公共卫生挑战之一”，旨在确保清洁增长，同时通过减少排放来解决空气污染问题。在向“低碳经济”转型的过程中，实现这些温室气体和空气污染物排放的减少，将需要在未来几年大幅减少化石燃料的使用，并对运输车队进行改革。通过减少发电厂、机动车辆、家庭燃烧木材/煤炭和其他来源的排放，改善室外空气污染水平，这也将对健康产生重要益处。然而，另一个重要的气候变化行动是提高家庭能源效率。这些措施通常需要减少通风水平，以减少热空气逸出的热量损失。除了有助于提高冬季室内温度外，这对人体健康也有好处，因为它减少了室外环境中空气污染物进入室内的机会。但它会增加室内空气污染物的水平，这些污染物来自家庭内部，比如烹饪产生的颗粒和气体、织物和家具、清洁和个人护理产品释放的挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）。因此，提高家庭能源效率对室内污染水平的改变对建筑物居住者的健康总体上可能是积极的，也可能是消极的，这取决于进入和离开室内环境的污染物的影响的平衡。这种平衡可能取决于室外污染物的水平、室内空气污染源和产生这些污染物的活动、能源效率改进的形式、居住者的行为及其对空气污染物的脆弱性。特别危险的人群是幼儿、老年人、已有疾病的人和社会剥夺者。为了提高对这些问题的理解，我们创建了一个新的研究网络（缩写为“HEICCAAM”）。该网络汇集了来自九所大学的经验丰富的早期职业研究人员，他们来自不同的学科，如空气质量测量和建模、建筑物理学、行为科学、健康和健康不平等、教育和政策。该网络还将包括公众代表，以及来自公共部门、商业/工业和非政府机构的利益相关者，包括英格兰公共卫生部、苏格兰健康保护和NHS、苏格兰环境保护局、Age UK、被动性房屋信托基金、好家园联盟、爱丁堡市议会、特许建筑服务工程师协会和英国气象局。该网络将建立证据，证明旨在应对气候变化和空气质量差的行动对暴露于空气污染的影响，特别关注家庭环境。其目的是提供基础研究，为保障人类健康的政策和实践提供信息和影响。该网络将包括六个工作组的活动，其任务是编写一系列有关科学和政策问题的文件。它还将开展四个小型研究项目，旨在提高对存在知识空白的关键问题的理解。它将特别侧重于保护弱势群体的健康和减少卫生不平等现象。网络成员将通过电子会议、网络研讨会、讨论组以及与更广泛的利益相关者的年度会议和研讨会进行多种互动。通过其活动，该网络将帮助建立这一领域跨学科研究的长期能力，包括通过与早期职业研究人员的相互作用、制定新的研究计划以及与其他网络和现有研究方案的联系。

The 2019 Climate Change Act committed the UK to reducing its emissions of greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050. The 2019 UK Clean Air Strategy, sees "air pollution as one of the UK's biggest public health challenges", aims to secure clean growth whilst tackling air pollution through reducing emissions. Achieving these reductions in greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions will entail substantial reductions in use of fossil fuels and changes to the transport fleet over coming years as we make the transition to a 'low carbon economy'. This will also have an important benefit for health of improving levels of outdoor air pollution by reducing emissions from power plants, motor vehicles, wood/coal burning at home and other sources. However, another important climate change action is to improve energy efficiency in homes. Those measures typically entail reducing levels of ventilation to cut down heat losses from escape of heated air. In addition to helping improve winter indoor temperatures, this can be beneficial for human health because it reduces the penetration into the home of air pollutants from the outdoor environment. But it will increase indoor levels of air pollutants derived from sources inside the home - such as particles and gases generated by cooking, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) given off from fabrics and furnishings, cleaning and personal care products.The changes to indoor pollution levels from improved home energy efficiency may thus be overall positive or negative for the health of building occupants depending on the balance of effects on pollutants entering and leaving the indoor environment. That balance is likely to depend on the levels of outdoor pollutants, indoor air pollutant sources and activities that generate these, the form of the energy efficiency improvements, the behaviour of occupants and their vulnerability to air pollutants. People at particular risk are young children, the elderly, those with pre-existing illnesses, and those experiencing social deprivation. To improve understanding of these issues, we have created a new research network (acronym 'HEICCAAM'). This network brings together experienced and early career researchers from nine universities from disciplines as diverse as air quality measurement and modelling, building physics, behavioural science, health and health inequalities, education and policy. The network will also include representatives of the public, as well as stakeholders from the public sector, business/industry and non-government bodies - including Public Health England, Health Protection and NHS Scotland, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Age UK, the Passivhaus Trust, Good Homes Alliance, Edinburgh City Council, the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers and the UK Met Office.The network will build evidence on the consequences for exposure to air pollution of actions aimed at tackling climate change and poor air quality, with particular focus on the home environment. Its aim is to provide underpinning research that can inform and influence policy and practice to safeguard human health. The network will include activities by six Working Groups tasked with generating a series of papers on relevant issues of science and policy. It will also undertake four small research projects aimed at improving understanding of key issues where there are knowledge gaps. It will have a particular focus on protecting the health of vulnerable groups and reduction of health inequities. Network members will have multiple interactions through electronic meetings, webinars, discussion groups and an annual meeting and workshop with a wider group of stakeholders. Through its activities, the network will help build long-term capability in interdisciplinary research in this area, including through the interactions with early career researchers, the development of new research plans, and linkage to other networks and existing research programmes.