Air Pollution Linked to 6.5 Million Deaths a Year, Study Says, with the Highest Concentration in Asia

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July 5, 2016

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by Melissa Chan (Time Magazine) Air pollution contributes to about 6.5 million deaths each year, the International Energy Agency warned in a report released Monday, with casualties expected to drastically rise in coming decades unless the energy industry curbs emissions.

The agency’s first air pollution study found that premature deaths connected to outdoor air pollution are projected to rise from 3 million in 2016 to 4.5 million by 2040, with the highest concentration in developing Asia. It also suggested that governments and the energy sector could reduce the number of deaths linked to air pollution by implementing clean air policies. READ MORE includes VIDEO and MORE (New York Times) and MORE (International Energy Agency) and MORE (Bioenergy Insight) Report

Excerpt from International Energy Agency: The IEA strategy for cleaner air requires the implementation of a number of proven policies. Actions to deliver access to clean cooking facilities to an additional 1.8 billion people by 2040 are essential to reducing household emissions in developing countries, while emissions controls and fuel switching are crucial in the power sector, as is increasing energy efficiency in industry and emissions standards that are strictly enforced for road transport. Overall, the extra impetus to the energy transition means that global energy demand is 13% lower in 2040 than otherwise expected and, of the energy that is combusted, three-quarters is subject to advanced pollution controls, compared with only around 45% today.

From the report: Brazil contributes around 40% to the reduction of each pollutant in Latin America in the clean Air Scenario, relative to the New Policies Scenario. For all pollutants, the industry and transformation sectors are important, but for NOX, the transport sector (in particular freight vehicle regulation) is the main contributor to the reduction in the Clean Air Scenario, because of the sector’s strong reliance on oil and biofuels.

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(O)il demand for transport increases from around 5 million barrels per day (mb/d) today to more than 9 mb/d in 2040, moderated only in part by increasing fuel efficiency and the uptake of alternative fuels
(such as electricity, biofuels and natural gas).

Advanced BioFuels USA