Toxic Air : The Price of Fossil Fuels – Economics

Table of Contents

CURRENT AFFAIR

The Greenpeace Southeast Asia has released a report titled ‘Toxic Air: The Price of Fossil Fuels’.

The report provides a global assessment of the health impact of air pollution from fossil fuels in 2018 and a first-of-its-kind estimate of the associated economic cost.
The study is limited to the following pollutants: fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and only that pollution which is emitted by fossil fuel combustion (coal, oil and gas).

Fine particles with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller.
PM2.5 particles are respirable, which means that they are small enough to reach the gas exchange region of the lungs.

O3 formed at near-ground level is an air pollutant that causes smog.
Ground level ozone forms when Nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution reacts with chemicals called volatile organic compounds (chemicals from sprays, paints etc.).
Ozone pollution causes acute human health problems, including chest pain, throat irritation and inflammation of the airways. It also adversely affects vegetation and crops.

When fossil fuels are burned in air, nitrogen oxides Nox are created from molecular nitrogen in the air and in the fuel that is being burned.
NOx pollution, along with sulfur dioxide, which is also produced when fossil fuels are burned, reacts with water to form acid rain, snow and fog, and with other substances to form particulate matter.
Health impacts: cardiovascular diseases, exacerbated symptoms of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and other respiratory diseases.

HEALTH IMPACTS : Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), lung cancer, lower respiratory infections, type II diabetes, etc.
Economic : cost of treatment, management of health conditions, work absences.

ON GDP : 3.3% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), equivalent to US $8 billion per day.
12,000 premature deaths every day.
China, the US and India bear the highest economic cost of soaring pollution, at an estimated $900 billion, $600 billion and $150 billion (5.4% of the India’s GDP) a year, respectively.

PM2.5 air pollution leads to the greatest health impact and the greatest financial cost of the three pollutants (PM2.5, O3, NO2).
Globally, air pollution is estimated to cause 4.5 million premature deaths each year. This includes 3 million deaths attributable globally to PM2.5.
Pollution from PM2.5 costs 2.5% of the global GDP whereas pollution from O3 and NO2 , each costs equivalent to 0.4% of global GDP.

Sustainable Transport System:
phase-out date for diesel and petrol cars
implementing various urban transport measures, such as restricting cars’ access into certain neighborhoods or districts, promoting car-free days, etc.
Switch to Renewable Energy:
The phase out of fossil fuels and switch to renewable forms of energy is beneficial both for reducing air pollution and mitigating anthropogenic (man-made) climate change.

PM2.5 is one of the principal pollutants in northern Indian cities including Delhi.
The 2 million preterm births globally due to PM2.5 include 9,81,000 preterm births in India.
The report links approximately 3,50,000 new cases of child asthma in India to nitrogen dioxide.
Over 1.28 million more children in India live with asthma, which is linked to fossil fuel pollution.
Exposure to fossil fuels also leads to a loss of around 490 million workdays.

Increase its spending on the health sector.
India spends around 1.28% of the GDP on health while air pollution from burning fossil fuels costs an estimated 5.4% of India’s GDP.
The central government has allocated only Rs 69,000 crore for the health sector in the Union Budget 2020-21.
The coal fired power plants in India have repeatedly missed the emission deadline set by the Union Environment Ministry.
Strict action should be taken against noncompliance of thermal power plants.
The government should ensure the construction of new coal-fired power plants is halted and existing plants should be shut down in phases.