Tougher climate policies could save a stunning 150 million lives, researchers find
There is an overlooked benefit to greatly lowering carbon emissions worldwide, a new study says. In addition to preserving Arctic sea ice, reducing sea-level rise and alleviating other effects of global warming, it would probably save more than 150 million human lives.
According to the study, premature deaths would fall on nearly every continent if the worlds governments agree to cut emissions of carbon and other harmful gases enough to limit global temperature rise to less than 3 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. That is about a degree lower than the target set by the Paris climate agreement.
The benefit would be felt mostly in Asian countries with dirty air 13 million lives would be saved in large cities in India alone, including the metropolitan areas of Kolkata, Delhi, Patna and Kanpur. Greater Dhaka in Bangladesh would have 3.6 million fewer deaths, and Jakarta in Indonesia would record 1.6 fewer lives lost. The African cities of Lagos and Cairo combined would register more than 2 million fewer deaths.
In the United States, the Clean Air Act has improved air quality over the years. Still, more than 330,000 lives in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta and Washington would be spared, according to the study, published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Americans dont really grasp how pollution impacts their lives, said Drew Shindell, a professor of Earth science at Duke University and the studys lead author. You say, My uncle went to the hospital and died of a heart attack. You dont say the heart attack was caused by air pollution, so we dont know. Its still a big killer here. Its much bigger than from people who die from plane crashes or war or terrorism, but we dont see the link so clearly.
Much more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/03/20/tougher-climate-policies-could-save-a-stunning-150-million-lives-researchers-find/?utm_term=.482a7e2f3670
Smoke billows from a steel factory in Hebei, China, in 2015. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)