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27 August 2008 - The Director of the University of Otago Wellington's He KaingaOranga/Housing and Health Research Programme and Centre for Sustainable Cities has welcomed the Emissions Trading Agreement between the Labour Government and the Green Party. The agreement paves the way for the establishment of a $1 billion fund to insulate every house in NZ as part of the Government's climate change policy.

Professor Philippa-Howden Chapman says: "This is an extraordinary example of a creative shift in thinking that truly places New Zealand in the twenty-first century"

"Insulating all houses and reducing fuel poverty by compensating residential electricity users for raised prices should lead to evident health benefits for all New Zealanders."

Professor Howden-Chapman says considering the disastrous consequences of our continuing to emit carbon at present levels, the Emissions Trading Scheme is a bold and necessary move to use market mechanisms, for social, as well as economic purposes. She believes we are using money generated from this scheme - our commonwealth - to finally bring all our homes up to basic modern insulation standards.

This is a similar move to the Dutch, who used the proceeds of North Sea Gas finds to centrally heat all homes in the Netherlands in the mid-1970s and were able to track an associated improvement in life expectancy.

"The present poor energy efficiency of our houses in New Zealand has had serious public health consequences," Professor Howden-Chapman says. "Many of our homes were built in the late 19th century and the early part of the 20th, when energy seemed so cheap we just used lots of it. With the certainty of climate change, we don't have the luxury of doing that any more."

Studies carried out by the University of Otago Wellington's He Kainga Oranga/Housing and Health Research Programme has clearly demonstrated that our old, damp houses are cold and hard to heat. Consequently there are 1600 excess deaths in winter when the temperature drops, compared to summer. From community trials, it has been shown that insulating houses reduces illness and hospitalisations and that the symptoms of asthma, the most chronic illness in children, are alleviated by warm homes. We also know that sustainable heating can bring our indoor temperatures up to international standards without polluting the air outside.

"This political deal is an example of rational policy making at its best. It puts in place a policy which deals with bad environmental consequences of energy inefficient houses by insulating them, which has been repeatedly shown to be the most cost-effective policy for reducing climate change."

Professor Howden-Chapman says this announcement recognises that any rapid change necessary to deal with climate change affects those on low incomes more, because they have less discretionary money.

"I'm delighted to see this package will be free to those on low incomes. This is good news for low-income families and all of us who want to live in an inclusive society, where social and health inequalities don't increase when we face an economic shock."