Environment International (Jan 2021)
The COVID-19 pandemic and global environmental change: Emerging research needs
- Robert Barouki,
- Manolis Kogevinas,
- Karine Audouze,
- Kristine Belesova,
- Ake Bergman,
- Linda Birnbaum,
- Sandra Boekhold,
- Sebastien Denys,
- Celine Desseille,
- Elina Drakvik,
- Howard Frumkin,
- Jeanne Garric,
- Delphine Destoumieux-Garzon,
- Andrew Haines,
- Anke Huss,
- Genon Jensen,
- Spyros Karakitsios,
- Jana Klanova,
- Iida-Maria Koskela,
- Francine Laden,
- Francelyne Marano,
- Eva Franziska Matthies-Wiesler,
- George Morris,
- Julia Nowacki,
- Riikka Paloniemi,
- Neil Pearce,
- Annette Peters,
- Aino Rekola,
- Denis Sarigiannis,
- Katerina Šebková,
- Remy Slama,
- Brigit Staatsen,
- Cathryn Tonne,
- Roel Vermeulen,
- Paolo Vineis
Affiliations
- Robert Barouki
- INSERM, Université de Paris, France; Corresponding author.
- Manolis Kogevinas
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain
- Karine Audouze
- INSERM, Université de Paris, France
- Kristine Belesova
- LSHTM, UK
- Ake Bergman
- Stockholm University, Sweden
- Linda Birnbaum
- NIEHS, USA
- Sandra Boekhold
- RIVM, Netherlands
- Sebastien Denys
- Santé Publique France, France
- Celine Desseille
- INSERM, Université de Paris, France
- Elina Drakvik
- Stockholm University, Sweden
- Howard Frumkin
- University of Washington School of Public Health, USA
- Jeanne Garric
- INRAE, France
- Delphine Destoumieux-Garzon
- CNRS, Université de Montpellier, IFREMER, UPVD, France
- Andrew Haines
- LSHTM, UK
- Anke Huss
- Utrecht University, Netherlands
- Genon Jensen
- Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), Belgium
- Spyros Karakitsios
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
- Jana Klanova
- RECETOX, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
- Iida-Maria Koskela
- SYKE, Finland
- Francine Laden
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, USA
- Francelyne Marano
- Université de Paris, France
- Eva Franziska Matthies-Wiesler
- HMGU, Germany
- George Morris
- ECEHH, University of Exeter, UK
- Julia Nowacki
- WHO European Centre for Environment and Health, Germany
- Riikka Paloniemi
- SYKE, Finland
- Neil Pearce
- CNRS, Université de Montpellier, IFREMER, UPVD, France
- Annette Peters
- HMGU, Germany
- Aino Rekola
- SYKE, Finland
- Denis Sarigiannis
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
- Katerina Šebková
- RECETOX, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
- Remy Slama
- INSERM, CNRS, Université de Grenoble-Alpes, IAB, France
- Brigit Staatsen
- NIEHS, USA
- Cathryn Tonne
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain
- Roel Vermeulen
- Utrecht University, Netherlands
- Paolo Vineis
- Imperial College London, UK
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 146
p. 106272
Abstract
The outbreak of COVID-19 raised numerous questions on the interactions between the occurrence of new infections, the environment, climate and health. The European Union requested the H2020 HERA project which aims at setting priorities in research on environment, climate and health, to identify relevant research needs regarding Covid-19. The emergence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 appears to be related to urbanization, habitat destruction, live animal trade, intensive livestock farming and global travel. The contribution of climate and air pollution requires additional studies. Importantly, the severity of COVID-19 depends on the interactions between the viral infection, ageing and chronic diseases such as metabolic, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and obesity which are themselves influenced by environmental stressors. The mechanisms of these interactions deserve additional scrutiny. Both the pandemic and the social response to the disease have elicited an array of behavioural and societal changes that may remain long after the pandemic and that may have long term health effects including on mental health. Recovery plans are currently being discussed or implemented and the environmental and health impacts of those plans are not clearly foreseen. Clearly, COVID-19 will have a long-lasting impact on the environmental health field and will open new research perspectives and policy needs.
