Abstract
ObjectiveThis study aims to examine the patterns and socio-demographic predictors of health and environmental co-benefit behaviours that support climate change mitigation in a densely populated Asian metropolis—Hong Kong.MethodsA population-based, stratified and cross-sectional random digit dialling telephone survey study was conducted between January and February 2016, among the Cantonese-speaking population aged 15 and above in Hong Kong. Socio-demographic data and the self-reported practice of 10 different co-benefit behaviours were solicited. Ethics approval and participant’s verbal consent were sought.FindingsThe study sample consisted of 1,017 respondents (response rate: 63.6%) were comparable to the age, gender and geographical distributions of the Hong Kong population found in the latest 2011 Hong Kong Population Census. Among the co-benefit behaviours, using less packaging and disposable shopping bags were practiced in the highest frequency (70.1%). However, four behaviours were found to have never been practiced by more than half of the respondents, including bringing personal eating utensils when dining in restaurants or small eateries, showering less than five minutes, having one vegetarian meal a week, and buying more organic food. Results of multivariable logistic regression showed that frequency of practicing co-benefit behaviours were consistently associated with gender and age.ConclusionUrban residents in Hong Kong do not engage in the practice of co-benefit behaviours in a uniform way. In general, females and older people are more likely to adopt co-benefit behaviours in their daily lives. Further research to assess the knowledge and attitudes of the population towards these co-benefit behaviours will provide support to relevant climate change mitigation policies and education programmes.
Highlights
Climate change is known to pose risks to human health [1,2]
Four behaviours were found to have never been practiced by more than half of the respondents, including bringing personal eating utensils when dining in restaurants or small eateries, showering less than five minutes, having one vegetarian meal a week, and buying more organic food
Four behaviours were found to have been practiced by less than half of the population, including bringing personal eating utensils when dining in restaurants or small eateries, showering less than five minutes, having one vegetarian meal a week and buying more organic food
Summary
Climate change is known to pose risks to human health [1,2]. Climate change and human health are so closely linked that many mitigation measures naturally promote public health and environmental benefits at the same time, as captured in the concept of co-benefits. While cobenefits can be applied across a variety of sectors, the co-benefit behaviours this study investigates refer to the behaviours that have positive effects on health and environment. Highlighting the health and environmental co-benefits could provide more motivation and justification for climate change mitigation actions than focusing only on the environmental benefits [6,7,8]
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