Air quality co-benefits for human health and agriculture counterbalance costs to meet Paris Agreement pledges

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06885-9
• Publication Date: 2018-11-16T13:03:50Z
• Authors: Toon Vandyck; Kimon Keramidas; Alban Kitous; Joseph V. Spadaro; Rita Van Dingenen; Mike Holland; Bert Saveyn
• Keywords: Greenhouse Effect; Conservation of Natural Resources; Paris; Geography; Science; Climate Change; Cost-Benefit Analysis; International Cooperation; Q; Agriculture; Global Warming; 01 natural sciences; 7. Clean energy; Article; Environmental Policy; Global Burden of Disease; 12. Responsible consumption; 3. Good health; 13. Climate action; Air Pollution; 11. Sustainability; Humans; Particulate Matter; Public Health; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

Local air quality co-benefits can provide complementary support for ambitious climate action and enable progress on related Sustainable Development Goals. Here we show that the transformation of energy system implied by emission reduction pledges brought forward in context Paris Agreement change (Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs) substantially reduces local pollution across globe. The NDCs could avoid between 71 99 thousand premature deaths annually 2030 compared to a reference case, depending stringency direct controls. A more 2 °C-compatible pathway raises number avoided from 178-346 2030, up 0.7-1.5 million year 2050. Air morbidity, mortality, agriculture globally offset costs policy. An integrated policy perspective is needed maximise benefits health.