The hubs are funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
Each hub will receive up to £6 million to deliver high impact research focused on reducing health inequalities.
They will also undertake research into developing a standardised way to measure the trade-offs and unintended consequences as part of these measures.
Five challenge areas
The hubs are focused around five challenge areas, with significant opportunities to benefit people’s health and reduce the impact on the environment:
- transport and the built environment
- the indoor environment
- sustainable diets
- extreme weather
- decarbonising health and social care pathways
The hubs will work across these complex areas, together with other UKRI and NIHR investments, to identify areas for targeted interventions.
UKRI strategic investment
Professor Louise Heathwaite, UKRI Building a Green Future Lead and Executive Chair of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), said:
The UK’s net zero transition presents a huge opportunity to challenge, review and improve many aspects of societal resilience to create a sustainable environment and healthier, happier population. It is vital that we seize this chance for positive change.
We are excited by the potential of the hubs and look forward to seeing their findings inform successful, ambitious net zero policies with public health at their heart.
UKRI funding comes through its building a green future strategic theme and from:
- the Medical Research Council
- the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- NERC
The UKRI building a green future strategic theme aims to boost the green economy by supporting research that helps the UK reach net zero by 2050.
Health benefits of a net zero transition
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care and Chief Executive Officer of NIHR said:
Climate change is a major threat to public health, both now and for future generations.
These high-impact research hubs will contribute to protecting people’s health against the impact of climate change, realising the health benefits of a net zero transition and reducing health inequalities.
NIHR is also investing into research on human health and climate change including:
- air pollution
- vector borne diseases
- environmental change
- health
This additional investment supports its commitment to fund research to decarbonise health and care and NIHR’s overall strategy on climate and health.
NIHR published its first set of public commitments on climate, health and sustainability in 2024.
Clean energy superpower
Health Minister Baroness Gillian Merron said:
This £42 million investment into net zero research hubs will bring together world-class researchers to boost public health and tackle inequalities.
Through our Plan for Change, we will make the UK a clean energy superpower while improving health outcomes for everyone.
Further information
The seven research hubs are:
Transport and built environment
Healthy low-carbon transport hub
Director: Professor William Powrie, University of Southampton
Core organisations:
- University of Southampton
- University College London
- University of Birmingham
- University of Leeds
The new hub will identify barriers, incentives and accelerants to implementing healthy low-carbon transport schemes.
It will propose and evaluate new solutions towards maximising health co-benefits and reducing health inequalities associated with low-carbon transport interventions.
Indoor environments in a net zero world
Child and adolescent Health Impacts of Learning Indoor environments under net zero: The CHILI Hub
Director: Professor Pia Hardelid, University College London
Core organisations:
- University College London
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Swansea University
- UK Health Security Agency
- University of Leeds
- University of York
- Imperial
To meet net zero targets, the UK needs to make buildings more energy efficient, while acknowledging that respiratory infections also spread more easily in airtight buildings.
Schools and nurseries make up 15% of carbon emissions from public buildings in the UK.
Increasingly, more insultation and airtight building designs are used to make buildings more energy efficient.
But this may also lead to more indoor air pollution becoming trapped or increased indoor heat.
Researchers will investigate the impact of indoor pollution in more ‘airtight’, energy-efficient educational settings
Indoor HABItability during the Transition to net zero housing hub (INHABIT)
Director: Professor Zongbo Shi, University of Birmingham
Core organisations:
- University of Birmingham
- Cranfield University
- King’s College London
- London School of Economics and Political Science
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Oxford Brookes University
- UK Health Security Agency
- University College London
- University of Cambridge
- The University of Edinburgh
- University of Surrey
Homes contribute about 14% of carbon footprint in the UK.
Meeting the government’s net zero target makes it essential to retrofit the country’s 29 million homes.
Achieving this target requires an estimated £250 billion to £500 billion investment by 2050 and presents an opportunity to address population health and inequalities.
INHABIT will develop ways to realise the health co-benefits of house retrofitting, by improving indoor air quality and reducing mould and damp.
Sustainable healthy diets
Transdisciplinary Health Research to Identify Viable Interventions for Net Zero Goals: food futures (THRIVING food futures)
Director: Professor Peter Scarborough, University of Oxford
Core organisations:
- University of Oxford
- City, University of London
- Queen Mary University of London
- Sustain
- University of Cambridge
- University of Strathclyde
- The University of Warwick
The food we eat is responsible for one third of all global greenhouse gas emissions and this is growing.
Changing our diet would result in greater reductions in emissions than changing farming methods or reducing food waste.
Researchers will examine climate policies, and any unintended consequences of their implementation, to provide real-life evidence of their impact on healthy, sustainable, and equitable diets.
Extreme weather
HEARTH: national hub on net zero, health and extreme heat
Director: Professor Rajat Gupta, Oxford Brookes University
Core organisations:
- Oxford Brookes University
- Forest Research
- Greater London Authority
- London School of Economics and Political Science
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Oxfordshire County Council
- Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
- University College London
- The University of Edinburgh
- University of Leeds
The HEARTH team will examine how the transition to net zero emissions can benefit vulnerable populations by improving health outcomes, such as reducing heat-related illnesses and enhancing living conditions during extreme heat events.
The research will assess these benefits in various settings including homes, care facilities, hospitals, and prisons, with the aim of developing practical solutions that enhance health outcomes while supporting climate goals.
Decarbonising health and social care pathways
The UK hub for one health systems: creating sustainable health and social care pathways
Director: Professor Ed Wilson, University of Exeter
Core organisations:
- University of Exeter
- Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Getting It Right First Time
- Glasgow Caledonian University
- Institute of Cancer Research
- James Hutton Institute
- NHS Highland
- Queen’s University Belfast
- Royal College of General Practitioners
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
- Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital
- University of Aberdeen
- University of Liverpool
- University of South Wales
- Volunteer Cornwall
Academics and partners will work to tackle the challenge of helping the NHS become environmentally sustainable, and to help meet its legal obligation to become net zero by 2045.
The hub will work with patients to design-out carbon from care pathways.
It will ensure a health service that not only provides the best possible care for patients today, but a healthy environment for the health of future generations tomorrow.
A transdisciplinary hub to decarbonise commissioning and delivery of healthcare
Director: Professor Mahmood Bhutta, Brighton and Sussex Medical School
Core organisations:
- University of Sussex
- Aston University
- Centre for Sustainable Healthcare
- Office of Health Economics
- University of Brighton
- University of Leeds
- University of Nottingham
- University of West London
The NHS is responsible for one in 20 of all carbon emissions in the UK.
Care pathways (the way that care is delivered) contribute much to this carbon.
Approaches to reduce carbon of care pathways including reducing unnecessary appointments or exploring remote consultation where clinically appropriate.
Researchers will explore a number of policy mechanisms to support such change.
The vision is to create a world-leading international hub to support the NHS to become a low carbon provider of healthcare, that will serve as a model to other health systems.
Top image: Credit: pocketlight, E+ via Getty Images