Prof Mahmood Bhutta is Chair in ENT and Professor of Sustainable Healthcare at BSMS

£42m is being invested in game-changing research hubs designed to accelerate the UK’s journey to net zero. The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have joined forces to invest £42m into seven transdisciplinary research hubs based at institutions across the UK.

The UK is committed by law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as drivers of climate change to net zero by 2050. 

Professor Mahmood Bhutta, Chair in ENT at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) and Professor of Sustainable Healthcare, is one of the Directors of the seven hubs, a transdisciplinary hub to decarbonise commissioning and delivery of healthcare.

Each Hub will receive up to £6m to research powerful ways to ensure the UK’s transition to net zero also protects physical and mental health. They will 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. 

Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Chief Executive Officer of the 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."

UKRI funding comes through its Building a Green Future strategic theme and from the Medical Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Natural Environment Research Council. 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.

The NIHR is also investing into research on human health and climate change including air pollution, vector borne diseases and environmental change and health. This additional investment supports its commitment to fund research to decarbonise health and care and the NIHR’s overall strategy on climate and health. The NIHR published its first set of public commitments on climate, health and sustainability in 2024. 

Professor Louise Heathwaite, UKRI Building a Green Future Lead and Executive Chair of the Natural Environment Research Council, 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.”

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.”

The seven research hubs

1. 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. 
2. 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 & Tropical Medicine, Swansea University, UK Health Security Agency, University of Leeds, University of York, Imperial College London.  
3. 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 & Tropical Medicine, Oxford Brookes University, UK Health Security Agency, University College London, University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh and University of Surrey.
4. THRIVING food futures (Transdisciplinary Health Research to Identify Viable Interventions for Net Zero Goals: 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 and University of Warwick.  
5. 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 & Tropical Medicine, Oxfordshire County Council, Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, University College London, University of Edinburgh and University of Leeds.
6. 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 (GIRFT), 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 and Volunteer Cornwall. 
7. A transdisciplinary hub to decarbonise commissioning and delivery of healthcare
   Director: Professor Mahmood Bhutta, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex and University of Brighton.
   Core organisations: University of Sussex, Aston University, Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, Office of Health Economics, University of Brighton, University of Leeds, University of Nottingham and University of West London.