Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Oct 26: The economic crises and global warming are squeezing more people and killing them as the Covid pandemic subsides. With increased demand and profitability, the coal, oil, and gas industry has recovered in large part as a result of the energy crisis brought on by the Ukraine war.
The “Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change,” reports has cautioned governments against their fixation with fossil fuels and advised them to improve health programmes. According to it, there is a greater chance of food insecurity, the spread of infectious diseases, heat-related illnesses, energy poverty, and mortality from exposure to air pollution as a result of the continued subsidies and priority given to fossil fuels.
According to the research, exposure to particulate matter from the combustion of fossil fuels resulted in the deaths of over 330,000 Indians in 2020. For every two minutes, there are 1.2 deaths. Around 380,000 deaths occurred in China, compared to 117,000 in Europe. Over a third of the 32,000 deaths in the US that were associated with particulate matter pollution directly related to fossil fuels.
The message of the study is urgent and unmistakable.
Most nations are far from their goal of reducing emissions. To reach the Paris Agreement goals, they must reduce emissions by a sizable 43% over 2010 levels by 2030. However, the present emissions are roughly 14% higher than in 2010. Particularly after the Ukraine war, several countries, particularly those in Europe, have boosted their consumption of fossil fuels. China and India have already announced plans to use more coal power.
The research goes into detail about how air pollution and climate change are related. The burning of fossil fuels releases hazardous air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Every major organ system in the body is harmed by air pollution. Children are especially prone.
According to the analysis, the cost of the 32,000 fatalities in the US attributable to PM 2.5 pollution in 2020 is estimated to be $142 billion, or 0.7% of the GDP.
The majority of big nations continue to subsidise the fossil fuel sector, with some of them spending more on this than on their health-related initiatives. 69 countries projected this to be worth $400 billion in 2019. The anticipated cost of the subsidy in India is $34 billion, that in China is $35 billion, that in 15 European countries was one billion euros each, and that in the United States is ‘conservatively’ assessed at $20 billion.
According to the analysis, the cost of the 32,000 fatalities in the US attributable to PM 2.5 pollution in 2020 is estimated to be $142 billion, or 0.7% of the GDP.
The majority of big nations continue to subsidise the fossil fuel sector, with some of them spending more on this than on their health-related initiatives. 69 countries projected this to be worth $400 billion in 2019. The anticipated cost of the subsidy in India is $34 billion, that in China is $35 billion, that in 15 European countries was one billion euros each, and that in the United States is ‘conservatively’ assessed at $20 billion.
