Fossil fuels oil, gas and coal are not only primarily to blame for climate change, due to the greenhouse gases they release into the atmosphere when burned to generate energy. They also spew out harmful particulates that directly impact human health and cause millions of premature deaths around the world every year.
Between 2005 and 2020, annual deaths attributable to PM2.5 particles linked to fossil fuels fell from 1,437,000 to 1,212,000, or a 15.7% reduction, according to the calculations contained in the study, which was just released to the public on Wednesday, November 15, and involved the participation of 114 scientists and health professionals from 52 institutions.
The decrease in the use of coal is also accompanied by an exponential increase around the world in the implementation of renewables, says Romanello. This is the good news; the bad news is that humanity's delay in implementing measures to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions is already having serious consequences in the form of heat-related deaths, food insecurity, problems of access to water, economic losses, etc. And the worst is yet to come, as this year's edition of The Lancet Countdown warns.
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