Clean air is vital for good health. Yet despite growing recognition of this imperative, the problem of air pollution is far from solved in many countries, and the global health impacts risk intensifying in the decades to come.
The scale of the public health crisis caused by air pollution and the importance of the energy sector to its resolution are the reasons why the IEA is focusing on this critical topic for the first time.
” Clean air is a basic human right that most of the world’s population lacks “
Based on new data for pollutant emissions in 2015 and projections to 2040, this IEA special report, the latest in the World Energy Outlook series, provides a global outlook for energy and air pollution as well as detailed profiles of key countries and regions: the United States, Mexico, the European Union, China, India, Southeast Asia and Africa.
” We need to revise our approach to energy development so that communities are not forced to sacrifice clean air in return for economic growth “
In a Clean Air Scenario, the report proposes a pragmatic and attainable strategy to reconcile the world’s energy requirements with its need for cleaner air. Alongside the multiple benefits to human health, this strategy shows that resolving the world’s air pollution problem can go hand-in-hand with progress towards other environmental and development goals.
Key Figures
- Around 6.5 million premature deaths each year can be attributed to air pollution.
- Energy production and use are by far the largest man-made sources of air pollutants.
- Technologies to tackle air pollution are well known.
- Small increase in energy investment could cut premature deaths from air pollution in half by 2040.
Sources
- Download the IEA report.
- IEA presentation to the press, London 27 June 2016.
- IEA press release.
- Reuters press release.