“Put more AC in public buildings to avoid overheating risk”

The independent Climate Change Committee has called on the government to provide more AC in public buildings to avoid the health risks of overheating – warning that passive cooling measures could be insufficient.

In its report A Well-Adapted UK, the CCC said that more active cooling measures were needed as climate change drives higher temperatures. It said:

Risks can be significantly reduced with established and cost-effective actions available to deploy now. Their implementation will be critical to protecting lives, infrastructure, and economic prosperity in the warming climate.”

The report noted that increasingly extreme and frequent heatwaves are the greatest risk to health in the UK from climate change, with annual heat-related excess deaths in heatwave periods already ranging from 1,400–3,000 each year, overwhelmingly concentrated among the elderly. The CCC warned that by 2050, under 2°C of global warming, this could rise to 3,000–10,000 each year without additional adaptation. It said:

Keeping people cool can avoid this increase in mortality. Cooling is especially important in people’s homes, care homes, and hospitals, where those particularly vulnerable to heat are most likely to be. New buildings should be designed to keep people cool from the outset. Low-cost passive cooling measures, such as natural shading, may be sufficient interventions in some parts of the country…Active cooling measures, alongside low-cost passive measures, are more likely to be needed for retrofitting existing homes (which make up the majority of homes that will exist in 2050). For some homes, relying entirely on passive measures to keep temperature to safe levels would either be not possible or too expensive.”

The Committee recommended that creating at least one cool room in a house through low-cost active cooling could help avoid significant national-level increases in heat-related mortality if deployed in the 30% most vulnerable urban households. It said:

Further rollout could reduce mortality further and would also be cost-effective. Households and businesses will and should increasingly install cooling for their own comfort and productivity. Additional support might be needed to ensure that sufficiently effective cooling can be accessed by those who are both heat-vulnerable and low-income.”

The Committee added that to reduce carbon as well as heating alongside cool, heat pumps could be installed at relatively low-cost and with minimal disruption, particularly for new builds.

The authors acknowledged that it will take time to roll out such active measures, so recommend additional measures such as the creation of public cool spaces (as seen in other European countries), changes in working practices, and support to deliver changes in behaviour for those at risk. They concluded:

These actions, alongside cooling in the healthcare system, could avoid around 40% of projected heat-related mortality in 2050 and help to relieve the already significant pressures from heat on healthcare.”

The Committee made a series of recommendations for government around cooling. It said to drive forward adaptation in the next two years, government should:

• Invest in cooling for key public services. Cooling will be needed in critical settings such as hospitals, schools, prisons, and care homes. Low-cost passive measures should be used, especially in new builds. In areas at greatest risk, active cooling will be needed alongside low-cost passive measures, to manage risk fully. To minimise cost and disruption, this needs to be aligned with the transition to low-carbon heating systems where possible. Regulations and standards can drive uptake in privately-provided services such as care homes.
• Set maximum temperature regulations for workplaces. Businesses are largely responsible for investing in their own adaptations but must ensure that workplaces and working practices are safe for employees, including for those working outside.
• Accelerate the uptake of cooling for the most vulnerable. Most households will invest in cooling themselves. However, those who have low incomes and are already vulnerable (for example, low-income pensioners) might need additional support. Mechanisms could build on existing incentive schemes that reach these groups, including by supporting heat pumps capable of cooling as well as heating.

In response, HPA UK chief executive Charlotte Lee said:

This report is a clear warning that the UK can no longer treat cooling as an afterthought. As we face more frequent and dangerous heatwaves, we must prepare our buildings- including homes, schools, offices and care settings for a future of more extreme temperatures. Heat pumps offer a practical long-term solution with many systems providing both efficient heating in winter and cooling in summer from the same technology. It is a timely reminder of the need to futureproof our buildings and energy systems now.”

She added:

Alongside accelerating the rollout of clean heating and cooling technologies, we should maximise the use of waste heat and invest in better insulation, shading and ventilation across homes and public buildings. By taking a whole-building approach, we can improve comfort, reduce pressure on the grid and better protect vulnerable people from the growing risks of extreme heat.”