Healthy Low-carbon Transport Hub to realise the health benefits of the transition to net zero
Our society must move confidently and methodically to realise the enormous potential health benefits of net zero transport measures, while avoiding strategies with negative health impacts. This is a major challenge.
Established in February 2025, The Healthy Low-carbon Transport Hub’s (HLTH) vision is to accelerate the adoption of low-carbon transport solutions that maximise health co-benefits and reduce health inequalities. Rapid decarbonisation of transport is essential if the UK is to meet statutory greenhouse gas (CO2e) emissions targets. Historically, CO2e emissions reduction measures have not systemically considered physical and mental health impacts, or inequalities in their distribution.
For example, in the UK a lower vehicle tax for diesel cars was introduced in 2001 to encourage replacing petrol cars with diesel. This led to poorer air quality and health outcomes, and did nothing to address increasing levels of physical inactivity and obesity. New research aims to avoid these mistakes in future.
The potential health benefits of adopting some forms of low-carbon transport, such as increased physical activity and cleaner air, are beyond doubt. Mental health and wellbeing benefits are also widely claimed but less clearly evidenced. Yet attempts by transport planners, engineers, public health experts and policy makers to promote health-beneficial forms of transport have met with mixed success; for example, cycle networks and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) have been blocked or resisted.
On the other hand, some forms of low-carbon travel are being promoted without full consideration of the health implications. For example, the increased weight and faster acceleration/deceleration of electric cars could lead to increased particulate pollution from tyre, road surface and brake wear, and a greater likelihood and more severe consequences of collisions with vulnerable road users.
Health impacts and inequalities in their distribution might also arise from other underlying trends and policy measures that reduce the need to travel, for example through increased remote (home) working.
The new HLTH will identify barriers, incentives and accelerants for implementing healthy low-carbon transport schemes. It will propose and evaluate new solutions for maximising health co-benefits and reducing health inequalities associated with low-carbon transport interventions by taking a ‘whole systems’ approach. Reducing health inequalities regionally and nationally is a key focus, as is defining, co creating and co-curating our strategy and programme with a broad range of stakeholders, especially the public.
Research in interlinked workstreams, supported by extensive community engagement including via a People’s Panel, will:
- evaluate and synthesise evidence of effectiveness of schemes already in place
- develop new transdisciplinary, system-of-systems multi-benefit conceptual and appraisal frameworks
- use these to evaluate the effectiveness of recent innovations
- propose and test new solutions through controlled-environment
- experiments in the UKCRIC-UCL Person-Environment-Activity Research Laboratory (PEARL) and pilot/demonstrator schemes
- recommend measures that achieve decarbonisation outcomes while maximising health co-benefits
- propose assessment and governance changes that, combined with implementation guidelines, will provide clear pathways to rapid success.
Key deliverables of HLTH are:
- a system-of-systems-level understanding of the potential health co-benefits/disbenefits of low-carbon transport, and how disbenefits can be avoided and co-benefits realised rapidly and at-scale;
- transdisciplinary, multi-benefit, scheme design, appraisal and evaluation frameworks/metrics accounting for the range of potential co-benefits/disbenefits (health, equity, social, environmental, economic), improving the likelihood of funding and implementing successful schemes;
- proposals for assessment and governance changes that, combined with implementation guidelines, will provide clear pathways to rapid success;
- understanding of how to design and accelerate the implementation of low-carbon transport schemes to ensure uptake and success; hence
- pathways to improved physical and mental health/wellbeing throughout the UK's population, reduced health inequalities, and the achievement of net-zero CO2e emissions from transport while delivering greatest social, environmental and economic value.
HLTH involves public health professionals, public engagement specialists, engineers, planners, geographers, social scientists, and transport and health economists from the UKCRIC member Universities of Southampton, Birmingham, Leeds, and University College London. Pilot interventions will be explored using the UKCRIC-UCL Person-Environment-Activity Research Laboratory (PEARL) and in the field, in collaboration with local authorities. The unique multiscale and multidisciplinary science carried out at PEARL will enable HLTH to assess the effectiveness of different options, and to demonstrate them to stakeholders so that they understand with confidence the implications of infrastructure decisions on the wellbeing of people.
Project partners include: Active Travel England, Birmingham City Council, Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation, Department for Transport, Go South Coast, Local Council Roads Innovation Group, London Borough of Hackney, Portsmouth City Council, Southampton City Council, Sustrans, and Transport for West Midlands.
The HLTH is one of seven transdisciplinary research hubs based at institutions across the UK to receive investment from The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
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.”
William Powrie, Professor of Geotechnical Engineering, University of Southampton, and HLTH Project Lead added:
“Our interdisciplinary research programme will deliver a multiple-outcome approach to the planning, implementation and assessment of low-carbon transport schemes, with full integration of health co-benefits and equity considerations. This is long overdue, and will bring step-change improvements in both public health and progress towards a low-carbon future.”
This work is supported by UKRI Building a Green Future strategic theme, NIHR, EPSRC, MRC and NERC [grant number MR/Z506382/1].
A website and regular newsletter will be established soon. If you would like to be kept informed of the activities of the HLTH or for any other enquiries about the hub please contact Tim Yates, Marketing, Communications and Events Manager, email: tim.j.yates@ucl.ac.uk.
