WHO workshop on Housing, Health and Climate Change
Place: Geneva, Switzerland
Date: 13–15 October 2010
Changes in housing and construction policies can reduce green house gas emissions and protect people from extreme weather events. Housing and construction are also linked to health, through indoor air quality, mould and damp, injuries, exposure to chemicals and many other risks. Many countries are therefore considering ways to improve the energy efficiency and the safety of buildings not only to mitigate and adapt to climate change but also as a major opportunity to improve public health.
WHO is convening a workshop on housing, health and climate change, bringing together experts and actors in health, building and housing at national and international levels. The workshop will bring a health perspective to and practical guidance for the proposed improvements in the built environment to be enacted in response to climate change, including mitigation and adaptation measures such as in energy efficiency. It should lead to the development of science-based advice on how measures to reduce climate change in housing and construction can avoid risks to health, and produce health improvements. The aim of the workshop is to include health as a major objective of residential construction and renovation to built environments in the context of climate change.