Emissions reductions 'could have environmental health benefits'

Implementing basic strategies to improve energy efficiency in the home could be beneficial for public health, a new study published in the Lancet has claimed.

The authors of the research introduced 150 million low-emission household cook stoves in India and monitored the health effects induced by changes to the indoor environment.

Substantial benefits were demonstrated for acute lower respiratory infection in children, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ischaemic heart disease through the project in India.

Scientists also estimated that this could save between 0.1 and 0.2 megatonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent per million population on an annual basis.

A UK case study was also examined, which looked at the "effect of hypothetical strategies to improve energy efficiency in UK housing stock".

This revealed that a scheme which included fabric, ventilation, fuel switching and behavioural changes could save up to 0.6 megatonnes of CO2 per million population in one year.

Research into the health effects of urban land transport and how these could be improved was also released today (December 4th) and published in the Lancet.

Posted by Claire Manning