US, Low PM 2.5 Emissions Reduce Fatality – Environmental Mobility

There is also good news on the topic of environment and air quality. A study conducted by Harvard University and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States, showed that a sharp decrease in pollutant emissions in the United States has reduced the number of deaths caused mainly by fine particles.
The report highlights in the period (2008-2017) an advantage equivalent to 270 billion in social costs not incurred due to the reduced risk of mortality due to particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5).
According to a new study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Recent reductions in vehicle emissions have led to important health benefits although progress in their climate impact is less clear,” said Ernani Choma, a researcher at Harvard Choma School. Not only in terms of public health but also in terms of climate, even stricter policies will be needed.”
The researchers calculated the monetary value of the so-called “social benefits” (reducing deaths attributable to air pollution and avoiding climate impacts) using national emissions data and modeling four emissions scenarios in 2017, i.e. actual emissions and three scenarios. Where emissions are the same as in 2014, 2011 and 2008.
The result was the creation of $270 billion in social benefits in the United States in 2017. The researchers also estimated that deaths attributable to air pollution from vehicle emissions decreased from 27,700 in 2008 to 19,800 in 2017. The authors noted, if in the year that was concentrated The study (2017) found that still at 2008 levels, those emissions would have caused 48,200 deaths attributable to air pollution in 2017, which would have represented a 74% increase in deaths between 2008 and 2017.