Current dietary patterns in developed countries, characterised by high intakes of processed and animal-source foods, are linked to increased obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases, as well as environmental burdens. This paper investigates determinants of red meat, white meat, and fish consumption across five European countries, using representative survey data from over 10 000 individuals. Our findings reveal that men consume more red meat and fish than women, though, when adjusted for body weight, women consume significantly more white meat and fish. While vegetarians are mostly people younger than 35 years, meat eaters in the same age category tend to eat more red meat than older people. Cross-country differences highlight the need for localised policy approaches. Individual values also shape dietary choices. Security-oriented people prefer red meat, while altruistic individuals consume less of it. Biospheric values, while strongly associated with being vegetarian, show no significant association with meat or fish intake. To reduce red meat consumption, policies should highlight health benefits of eating less meat, with messages tailored to specific demographic groups. Additionally, enhancing meat alternatives' affordability, taste, and appearance is essential for promoting dietary shifts.

Governments worldwide are exploring policies aimed at promoting healthier and more sustainable dietary choices. This study examines the public acceptability of two promising yet controversial policy interventions: the introduction of a meat tax and the removal of meat subsidies. Drawing on existing literature about the impact of policies on food consumption, particularly meat, we analyse data from a multi-country survey conducted across five European countries. We employ ordered logistic models and latent cluster analysis to examine factors influencing respondents’ support for these policies. Our findings highlight the role of value-based, diet-related, and socio-demographic factors. Notably, respondents from Spain, Portugal, and the UK showed significantly greater support for these meat policies compared to Latvians and Czechs. Age emerged as a key factor, indicating an increasing likelihood of support for both policies among younger individuals. Moreover, environmental and egoistic values were associated with increased odds of support, while security concerns and hedonic values had the opposite effect. Neither income nor employment emerged as significant predictors. Our study underscores the complexity of public opinions towards meat policies and provides valuable insights for policymakers seeking to design effective strategies to promote healthier and more sustainable dietary behaviours in Europe.

The European Green Deal declares climate neutrality as a goal for the year 2050. It establishes an EU binding target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990. The market, through the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, will determine how EU member states contribute to this target. The Effort Sharing Regulation defines binding national targets to reduce the remaining GHG emissions not covered by the EU ETS. In this paper, an energy optimization model is applied to analyze the capability of Czechia to meet the climate change targets by 2030 and 2050. We define a baseline scenario derived from the National Energy and Climate Plan and three policy scenarios to assess impacts of the extension of the EU ETS to buildings and transport (EU ETS 2) and the coal phase-out on the Czech energy system. One of the policy scenarios aims at approaching climate neutrality in 2050. In addition, another scenario does not assess the impacts of the EU ETS 2 and coal phase-out but searches for the optimal path to achieve climate neutrality in 2050. Given the high level of GHG emissions in 1990 and the significant reduction in GHG emissions in the 1990s, Czechia could achieve a 55% reduction by 2030. However, further decarbonization will be quite challenging.

Restoration of postmining areas is a frequently addressed topic requiring a comprehensive view. In this article, the recovery process of selected postmining spoil heap sites was evaluated using an approach based on calculation of Nash equilibrium (NE) probability distributions. Many of these sites have been allowed to recover by spontaneous succession, while on others, a variety of restoration procedures have been tested, most of them variants of the forest plantation type. The evaluation was carried out on selected data from each site that reflects four factors: the richness of the vegetation cover, the amount of biomass as soil macrofauna per unit area, the forestry yield, and the attractiveness for recreation use. The analysis was based on permuted game configurations in which these factors were treated as competing entities, adversaries that were differentially successful in each location depending on the conditions of the recovery procedure used. The game strategies that the factors exhibited as theoretically interacting entities had no primary information content, which meant that they could be treated stochastically. The result was a distribution of the NE probability at each location. Considering the fact that this result reflected the degree of optimality of the included factors, the calculation could be considered as a specific type of multicriteria evaluation, which was practically applicable and provided unambiguous results. The NE probability in sites restored by deciduous tree stands was higher, which was therefore assumed to correspond to higher stability.

Afforestation has been a popular restoration procedure for spoil heaps in the sites affected by coal open-cast mining in the Czech Republic. Forest replantation is a frequent restoration variant when spoil heaps are recovered, but unreclaimed sites are often left to spontaneous succession. Studies on the dynamics of such restored forests are missing, and the evidence of restored forests with respect to their recreation value is also sporadic. To study the dynamics and management of restored forests—both replanted and recovered by spontaneous succession—on spoil heaps, we used a matrix growth model, which accounts for harvest, artificial and natural regeneration, and recreation value of these forest stands. The model calibration was performed on data from 250 inventory plots distributed across the Velká Podkrušnohorská spoil heap and the Matyáš spoil heap in the Sokolov brown-coal mining area. The growth model was applied on six restored forest types to simulate—over 65 years with a 10-year cutting cycle—the effect of various management regimes of thinning on their recreation value and aboveground biomass (AGB). The results indicate that initial planting density and stand type have an effect on the dynamics of restored forest stands in the short-term horizon. Applying the thinning management resulted in an increase in recreation value for all types of restored stands, while AGB decreased.

Monetary impacts of premature mortality due to heat waves Preferences for public programmes against spread of ticks due to climate change and a new vaccine against Lyme disease, prevalence of tick-borne diseases and exposure to ticks

People who do not eat enough fruit and vegetables (F&V) have incremental health risks. Most Europeans do not comply with health recommendations relating to F&V consumption and this is especially true for those with lower-level education, which reinforces structural inequalities in health and wellbeing among Europeans. This study investigated the role of key behavioural triggers - capabilities, opportunities and motivation (in the COM-B model) - as pathways for educational differentials in F&V intake in Europe. A cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted in five European countries differing widely in their consumption habits, wealth, and climatic conditions. A structural equation model was designed to study how capabilities (diet perceived knowledge, health purchase criteria), opportunities (financial availability, social norms), and motivations (health value, habits strength) affect educational inequalities in the intake of F&V (5 portions a day) as mediators. Multi-group comparisons assessed country differences. People with higher levels of education were more likely to eat the recommended diet, i.e., at least 5 portions of F&V a day. Countries in the sample vary significantly in the percentage of people complying with the recommendation, but not significantly in terms of relative education differentials. The educational gap in the intake of F&V is mainly explained by education differentials in financial availability, diet knowledge, and habits in inserting F&V in main meals. Policies targeting dietary inequalities should address behavioural triggers affecting dietary intake, for example by subsidising F&V, developing targeted dietary awareness campaigns, or by intervening in mass catering contexts to facilitate the implementation of healthy habits.

Past research has described positive associations between exposure to urban greenspaces and people's physical activity. However, there is variation in the relationship since it may differ according to the type of physical activity, socio-economic factors and use, as well as intrinsic characteristics of greenspaces. This study assesses the influence of urban greenspaces on distinct types of physical activity accounting for indicators such as vegetation quantity, tree cover density and green surface. The study combines data of a survey across Spain (n = 2063) with data derived from satellite imagery - including normalized difference vegetation indexes (NDVI), tree cover density and land-use cover data. A generalized linear mixed model was used to evaluate the association between urban greenspaces and physical activity as well as to evaluate the effect of main socio-economic determinants. After adjustment for potential confounders, greater availability in greenspace was found to be related with decreased sedentary time and increased walking. Besides exposure to urban greenspaces, physical activity was found to be associated with household income, pro-environmental attitudes, lifestyles and eating habits. The results also showed that exposure to greenspaces in rural areas had considerably weaker effect than in urban areas. The results suggest that efforts should be made to provide access to new greenspaces where possible, in order to foster walking and improve population health.

Research highlights: Recreation value increases with the age of replanted as well as successional forests. Successional forests are not systematically less valuable for recreation than replanted forests. Succession may be used as a viable and low-cost reclamation practice of spoil heaps. Background and objectives: Afforestation has been a popular practice in post-mining land reclamation in the Czech Republic. To expand the current evidence on the recreation values of reclaimed forests, we conducted a valuation study for most typical reclaimed forests, as well as for successional forests spontaneously growing on surface coal mine deposit heaps. Using two distinct measurement methods, we also explore whether the estimated recreation value of forests is robust. Materials and Methods: An online survey was conducted in 2016 on a sample of residents living in the vicinity of coal mine deposit heaps, residents of the adjacent region of Karlovy Vary, and a control population from the central Bohemian region. Participants evaluated visual representations of forest stands typical for reclamation and succession, along with commercial spruce forest as a reference type. In the direct measurement, we measured the attractiveness of a respective forest for a walk using a 5-point scale. In the indirect measurement, a hypothetical choice between two forests for a walk was elicited in a discrete choice experiment. Results: Both direct and indirect measurements provide similar results. All reclaimed forests have a lower recreation value than the reference spruce forest. Successional forests are not systematically less valuable for recreation than replanted forests and the recreation value of both types increases with their age. The age, gender, and education of the participants did not affect the recreation value of a forest. Conclusions: We demonstrate that succession may be used as a viable and low-cost reclamation practice of spoil heaps emerging as a by-product of open-cast coal mining. With recreation as only one of many forest uses, our findings need to be interpreted vis-à-vis the objectives and expected results for individual sites and their habitat conditions.

The aim of this paper is to understand public preferences for several future scenarios of achieving a healthier, more equitable and sustainable Europe, which differ in the way the society is organized (individualistically vs. collectively) and in the driving sector (public vs. private). To achieve this aim, we conducted a questionnaire survey using representative samples for five European countries in 2018. About three thousand respondents chose among the four scenarios presented within four different contexts (green spaces, active mobility, energy-efficient housing, food consumption) or none of them. A majority of people in the five European countries were ready to accept one of the scenarios. We found significant differences in preferences according to socioeconomic backgrounds and values of respondents. People above 35 years old, those who were less educated, and those in the lowest household income tertile were less supportive of all scenarios. The heterogeneity in preferences associated with differences in socioeconomic backgrounds was larger for the scenario in which society is organized individualistically and driven by the private sector. Smaller distinctions were found in case of the scenario in which society is organized collectively and is driven by the public sector. Departing from social psychological theories, we examine the role of altruistic, biospheric, egoistic, hedonic, and security values. People with stronger biospheric values were more likely to accept scenarios, particularly those which are driven by the public sector and where there is more collective organisation. Those with a more egoistic value orientation were more likely to have higher preferences for scenarios where the private sector had a dominant role. The policy implications, in terms of the selection and framing of policy measures to enhance public support, are discussed.

The INHERIT report Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluations of Impacts and Benefits of Nine INHERIT Case Studies documents the findings relevant to potential impacts and benefits of nine case studies for health, equity and a more sustainable environment. It uses a mixed method approach with quantitative methods augmented in some cases by written responses to survey questions, or by focus group discussions on impacts, as appropriate. Each case study evaluation was led by a different INHERIT partner. In each case, partners formulated the research design appropriate to their case studies and the associated research questions identified within the framework of INHERIT. The coordinating partner, University College London (UCL), developed an evaluation framework to suit the range of case studies examined for impacts and benefits, the case specific logic models developed, and the research questions identified. The nine chapters describe the impact evaluations and findings from the nine case studies using the following format: Background; Overall aims; Context; Research Questions; Methodology; Results; Discussion; Limitations; Learning points for future research; Learning points for potential scale up and transferability.

Current mobility patterns over-rely on transport modes that do not benefit sustainable and healthy lifestyles. To explore the potential for active mobility, we conducted a randomized experiment aimed at increasing regular commuter cycling in cities. In designing the experiment, we teamed up with developers of the "Cyclers" smartphone app to improve the effectiveness of the app by evaluating financial and non-financial motivational features. Participants in the experiment were recruited among new users of the app, and were randomly assigned to one of four different motivational treatments (smart gamification, two variants of a financial reward, and a combination of smart gamification and a financial reward) or a control group (no specific motivation). Our analysis suggests that people can be effectively motivated to engage in more frequent commuter cycling with incentives via a smartphone app. Offering small financial rewards seems to be more effective than smart gamification. A combination of both motivational treatments-smart gamification and financial rewards-may work the same or slightly better than financial rewards alone. We demonstrate that small financial rewards embedded in smartphone apps such as "Cyclers" can be effective in nudging people to commute by bike more often.

Human consumption and activity are damaging the global ecosystem and the resources on which we rely for health, well-being and survival. The COVID-19 crisis is yet another manifestation of the urgent need to transition to more sustainable societies, further exposing the weaknesses in health systems and the injustice in our societies. It also underlines that many of the factors leading to environmental degradation, ill health and social and health inequities are interlinked. The current situation provides an unprecedented opportunity to invest in initiatives that address these common factors and encourage people to live more healthily and sustainably. Such initiatives can generate the positive feedback loops needed to change the systems and structures that shape our lives. INHERIT (January 2016–December 2019), an ambitious, multisectoral and transnational research project that involved 18 organisations across Europe, funded by the European Commission, explored such solutions. It identified, defined and analysed promising inter-sectoral policies, practices and approaches to simultaneously promote environmental sustainability, protect and promote health and contribute to health equity (the INHERIT “triple-win”) and that can encourage and enable people to live, move and consume more healthfully and sustainably. It also explored the facilitators and barriers to working across sectors and in public private cooperation. The insights were brought together in guidelines setting out how policy makers can help instigate and support local “triple-win” initiatives that influence behaviours as an approach to contributing to the change that is so urgently needed to stem environmental degradation and the interlinked threats to health and wellbeing. This article sets out this guidance, providing timely insights on how to “build back better” in the post pandemic era.

This deliverable (D2.6) substantiates that part of the activity of COACCH Task 2.6 consisting in assessing and quantifying a set of selected health impact of climate change. Specifically the work focuses on: ‐ In addition to the warming caused by climate change, urban areas are expected to experience higher levels of warming due to the urban heat island (UHI) effect, which occurs because in urban areas natural land is replaced by materials that have higher heat capacities and thermal conductivity. We assessed the warming, including the UHI effect that can be experienced in European cities under scenarios of climate change and socio‐economic development (Part I). ‐ Climate change is expected to influence the frequency and severity of heat and cold stress, which has implications for human health and mortality. This study examines the impacts of climate change on future mortality in the Netherlands, and the related economic costs, while accounting for change in both cold and heat related mortality for different age classes, the time dynamics, demographic change, and additional local warming from the urban heat island effect. Results show that heat and cold impacts on mortality vary considerably between age classes, with older people being more vulnerable to temperature extremes (Part II).‐ Heatwave hotspot vulnerability mapping for major European urban areas is developed, by superposing different risk dimensions based on hazard, exposure and social vulnerability, including local warming from the urban heat island effect for the set of chosen socio‐economic/climate scenarios in WP1. This conceptual framework is applied to map heatwaves episodes in Europe at the spatial resolution of 1/8 degree (Part III). ‐ New VSL estimates for fatal events due to heatwaves that will be quantified by conducting specific discrete choice stated preference survey in Spain and in the United Kingdom. Then, tick‐borne diseases, a key risk for Europe, focusing on the welfare impacts of lyme borreliosis and tick‐borne encephalitis. An on‐line survey will be conducted in order to elicit revealed preferences (averting behavior) as well as stated preferences. The survey will be implemented in three countries with higher exposure, namely in the Czech Rep, Slovakia, and Austria. (Part IV). According to the original plan, the results of the two valuation surveys on premature mortality and tick‐borne disease were planned by month 22. Due to unsuccessful first round of tender, the original plan could not be followed and the task completion needs to be postponed. Specifically, despite the fact that a tender on the data collection was issued in early May, following the internal time plan, and although five to seven professional companies were contacted in each country to submit their bids, no bid was received from three out of five countries in which the survey is planned (Austria, Spain, and the United Kingdom). The tender process had to be formally closed and a new tender had to be opened, following the internal rules of Charles University, which took more than two additional months. To solve this unexpected obstacle, a new time‐plan has been prepared and internally approved. Following this revised time‐plan, the task related to valuation of premature mortality and tick‐born disease is due to March 2020, i.e. month 28 of the COACCH project. For that reason, this report presents ongoing research. A literature review on health impacts due to extreme weather (e.g. extreme temperatures and heat stress) and vector‐, water‐ and food‐borne diseases, as well as on the metrics that can be used to provide an economic valuation of these impacts ‐ e.g. Quality‐of‐life specific indicators, Willingness To Pay values, Cost‐Of‐Illness components, Value of Statistical Life will be appending to the survey results in March 2020; Projected burden of heat stress on mortality in Europe over the period 2030–2099 under various RCPs climate change scenarios is estimated. Contrast to the previous work, in particular done within the PESETA projects, other factors affecting heat‐related mortality are considered.

The world’s challenges of climate change, damage to ecosystems, and social and health inequalities require changes in human behaviours at every level of organisation, among governments, business, communities, and individuals. An important question is how behaviour change can be enabled and supported at the scale and speed required. The research reported in this paper describes important lessons for good practice in changing contexts to modify behaviours for a triple win for health, equity and environmental sustainability. Authors synthesised learning from qualitative, quantitative and cost benefit evaluations of 15 case studies conducted in 12 countries in Europe. The case studies address ways of living (green spaces and energy efficient housing), moving (active transport) and consuming (healthy and sustainable diets) that support the triple win. Ten lessons for good practice were identified. These include bringing a triple win mindset to policy and practice in planning interventions, with potential to improve environmental sustainability, health and equity at the same time. The lessons for good practice are intended to support governmental and non-governmental actors, practitioners and researchers planning to work across sectors to achieve mutual benefits for health and environmental sustainability and in particular to benefit poorer and more socio-economically disadvantaged groups.

A prerequisite for any monetary estimation of economic losses arising from traffic congestion is a reliable estimate of the value of travel time. Although the available evidence from abroad reveals significant differences in the values of individual components of time travel, specific valuations of travel time are rather rare in the Czech Republic. The aim of this paper is to expand the data base in the Czech Republic by presenting selected estimates of the travel time components for Czech drivers and passengers. Specifically, we elaborate on the value of travel time and time spent in congestion for medium-long domestic routes (represented by the Prague-Brno route). The results of our valuation study (N = 602) show that the value of travel time spent in congestion is almost twice as high as the value of travel time in free-flow traffic and suggest that the reduction of congestion and of the variation in travel time in general will bring significant economic benefits compared to shortening travel time in free-flow traffic. This evidence confirms the importance of distinguishing between different components of travel time when assessing the benefits of transport infrastructures. Importantly, our estimates of the value of travel time are much lower than those officially endorsed by Czech Ministry of Transport (MoT) for analysing benefits of new transport infrastructure.

Consumers preferences for sustainable and healthier lifestyle are examined through stated preference discrete choice experiments. Specifically, we introduce several choice situations in which each respondent was asked to choose the best from three lifestyles presented, including the respondent’s current lifestyle. Each lifestyle alternative is described by a different diet, health risks, and monetary costs. Diet is described by a number of portions of five different food items eaten per week (fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, legumes, and confectionery, ice-cream and sugar-sweetened drinks). Using a split-sample treatment, lifestyles are then described by either physical activities or environmental impacts (in kg of CO2 emissions). We also examine the effect of self-affirmation and information about the environmental impacts provided separately or in a combination. A non-linear preference is tested for increasing versus decreasing cost of food expenditures. Preferences are analysed using an original stated preference survey conducted in five EU countries (the Czech Republic, Latvia, Portugal, Spain, and in the United Kingdom) in summer 2018, with dataset consisting of 10,288 observations. We find that importance of lifestyle attributes varies across the countries and information treatments. The cost is significant in every country, indicating that lower costs lead to a higher probability of choosing the alternative lifestyle. Reducing health risks and environmental impact motivated respondents to change their lifestyle, even though reducing 1 kg CO2 due to food consumption a week is valued 3–6 times less than reducing cardiovascular risk by one percent. Still, the implied WTP for a tone CO2 abatement is in a range of 300–1,200 Euro and VSC of cardiovascular disease lies between 4,000 and 35,000 Euro, depending on country and DCE variant. Increasing physical activity increases the likelihood of changing lifestyle only in Latvia and Portugal. Most respondents prefer to keep eating meat and eliminating meat or fish from food consumption is associated with large dis-benefit. Respondents also prefer to increase portions of health-improving vegetables and fruits, however, this is not the case of pulses.

The need for analysis and action across the interrelated domains of human behaviors and lifestyles, environmental sustainability, health and inequality is increasingly apparent. Currently, these areas are often not considered in conjunction when developing policies or interventions, introducing the potential for suboptimal or conflicting outcomes. The INHERIT model has been developed within the EU-funded project INHERIT as a tool to guide thinking and intersectoral action towards changing the behaviors and lifestyles that play such an important role in today’s multidisciplinary challenges. The model integrates ecological public health and behavioral change models, emphasizing inequalities and those parts of the causal process that are influenced by human behaviors and lifestyles. The model was developed through web-based and live discussions with experts and policy stakeholders. To test the model’s usability, the model was applied to aspects of food consumption. This paper shows that the INHERIT model can serve as a tool to identify opportunities for change in important −food-related behaviors and lifestyles and to examine how they impact on health, health inequalities, and the environment in Europe and beyond. The INHERIT model helps clarify these interrelated domains, creating new opportunities to improve environmental health and health inequality, while taking our planetary boundaries into consideration.

Background: Monetized environmental health impact assessments help to better evaluate the environmental burden of a wide range of economic activities. Apart from the limitations and uncertainties in physical and biological science used in such assessments, assumptions taken from economic valuation may also substantially influence subsequent policy-making considerations.Aim: This study attempts to demonstrate the impact of normative policy assumptions on quantified external costs using a case study of recently discussed variants of future coal mining and use of extracted coal in electricity and heat generation in the Czech Republic.Methods: A bottom-up impact-pathway approach is used for quantification of external costs. Several policy perspectives are elaborated for aggregating impacts that differ in geographic coverage and in how valuation of quantified impacts is adjusted in a particular perspective.Results: We find that the fraction of monetized external impacts taken into policy-making considerations may vary according to choice of decision perspective up to a factor of 10.Conclusion: At present there are virtually no hard rules for defining geographical boundaries or adjusting values for a summation of monetized environmental impacts. We, however, stress that any rigorous external cost assessment should, for instance in a separate calculation, take account of impacts occurring beyond country borders.