Deaths due to emissions from vehicles fell from 27,700 in 2008 to 19,800 in 2017, a new study from Harvard has found.
The paper, titled “Health benefits of decreases in on-road transportation emissions in the United States from 2008 to 2017,” was recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
The study found that not only did deaths decrease by nearly 8,000 over the course of nine years, but they would have been 2.4 times higher in 2017 if vehicles had still had the same level of emissions as 2008 during this time period, amounting to 47,520 lives lost.
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The study used the latest epidemiological evidence and emissions inventories to arrive at its estimates. It further found that, as a result of improving health effects, the U.S. saw $270 billion in economic benefits.
However, even though reduced emissions have had a definite health benefit, the gains could have been higher.
“Despite substantial progress in reducing emissions, you have this counteracting effect of population and larger vehicles,” Ernani Choma, an environmental health researcher at Harvard and lead author of the study told the Associated Press. “So it will be hard to achieve substantial progress if we don’t enact more stringent policies.”
Moreover, the environmental benefits of the automotive industry’s improvements weren’t as great as its health benefits. According to experts, approaches to reducing transportation emissions have been more focused on addressing air pollution, not climate change.
Indeed, Choma and his colleagues recommend stricter policies to help address climate change. Without taking action to combat it, we could face a new health crisis and negate the benefits of cleaner air.
