Efforts to improve the climate could reduce the number of deaths caused by air pollution in the US by about 6,000 people a year by 2030, according to a study. If action is not taken, the situation is predicted to worsen. This is because of a growing and ageing population who are more vulnerable to the impacts of air pollution, resulting in nearly 13,000 increased air pollution deaths in 2030 compared with 2015.
The research, led by Princeton University, looked at pollution sources and population. These revealed health gains from climate actions across every US state and, more locally, in nearly every US county.
Climate actions are often framed around targets that are several decades away. Yet it is increasingly clear that reducing fossil fuel combustion will bring immediate benefits for the issue of air pollution.
Xinyuan Huang, the lead author of the US-wide research, said: “Climate actions not only reduce carbon emissions but also bring significant air-quality improvements to regions with historically high pollution levels.
“Under ambitious climate policies, states like West Virginia and Kentucky could see deaths from particle pollution decrease by over 19% in 2030, demonstrating the substantial health benefits of shifting away from fossil fuels.”
Policies and actions included more renewable energy, such as wind and solar power; increased uptake of electric cars; and the electrification of freight trucks.
They also included reductions in vehicle miles travelled as well as gains from low- and zero-emission zones and decongestion charging, such as the successful scheme in New York. As in many parts of the world, decarbonising US buildings is challenging, although heat pumps outsold fossil gas boilers in the country in 2023.
Dr Wei Peng said: “Figuring out how to leverage and combine actions to maximise local benefits will be important to promote widespread public support for this transition. With a focus on the health benefits, our study aims to offer insights into this critical policy challenge.”
Separate research, published last month, found large inequalities in the health burden from fossil fuel and production and use in the US. Racial-ethnic minorities were found to experience the greatest differences in air pollution exposure and health burdens. Louisiana and Texas had the most extreme inequalities in exposure, mainly from fossil fuel production and processing.
An earlier economic analysis estimated that improvements in air pollution from net zero policies in the US could reduce early deaths from air pollution by between 4,000 and 15,000 a year in 2035, a health gain of $65bn-$128bn.
In the UK, estimated air pollution health benefits from net zero changes to the building sector would amount to £21bn by 2050, while those from road transport would be £9.1bn.
