A just energy transition for the good of health

A policy report by the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change

The UK is currently poised on a transformational opportunity to develop our energy system and the way in which we use energy that has the potential to deliver a better, fairer and healthier society. Our governments, industries, public institutions and people must take this opportunity to clean the air, protect us from the threats of climate change, and create the jobs and infrastructure that will stimulate a positive cultural and societal shift that is good for health and the environment.

Recommendations

1. End fossil fuel dependency

End government subsidies, investments, new licences and consent for fossil fuel exploration, extraction and sales; redirect funds to renewable energy sources and technologies; and implement policies to achieve a just transition.

2. Revise and strengthen the government’s strategy for getting to net zero

Deliver a revised, strengthened net-zero strategy with robust policies to achieve significant emissions reductions across all sectors of the economy, ensuring a credible plan is published to decarbonise the energy system and encourage uptake of green energy retrofit government schemes.

3. Invest in people to meet the demand for green jobs

Establish clear public targets for green skills creation, with a particular focus on those regions and groups most at risk of job loss and support the industry to develop green skills through investments and incentives for training and apprenticeships.

4. Improve infrastructure and access for active travel and clean transport

Implement targets to reduce motorised road traffic in line with net zero targets and upscale investment in high-quality infrastructure to enable and promote walking, wheeling, cycling, and public and shared community transport use.

5. Enable a low carbon, climate resilient health service

Provide sufficient capital investment and funding to decarbonise NHS infrastructure, estates, and services, accelerate the transition to electrification of the NHS fleet, and deliver public transport and active travel routes to NHS sites for staff, patients and visitors combined with actions to deliver resiliency in health and care services.

6. Demonstrate leadership by delivering domestically and meeting international obligations

Demonstrate global leadership by delivering ambition domestically through accelerated action to phase out fossil fuels, increasing investment, development and use of renewable energy, and stepping up to meet international financial commitments to pay for the UK’s global contribution to the climate crisis.