Solar helps prevent premature death

The substantial increase in wind and solar energy helped prevent the premature deaths of up to 12,700 people over a nine-year period in the US, according to new research which demonstrates the wider benefits of ditching fossil fuels beyond limiting global warming.

Lower carbon emissions

These lower carbon emissions were worth billions of dollars as a result of the avoidance of the range of problems caused by fossil fuels, according to a paper about the study published in the journal, Nature Energy. The UK Government has pledged that the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles will be banned from 2040 – a deadline criticised by environmentalists as being too far in the future to make a difference. In contrast, Norway plans to phase out such vehicles by 2025.

Thousands of deaths due to air pollution

According to the Royal College of Physicians, about 40,000 deaths a year in the UK are “attributable to exposure to outdoor air pollution”, which has been associated with “cancer, asthma, stroke and heart disease, diabetes, obesity and changes linked to dementia”. New research, which was funded by the US Department of Energy, discovered there had been significant declines in major air pollutants between 2007 and 2015.

Carbon dioxide emissions fell by 20 percent, sulfur dioxide by a staggering 72 percent, nitrogen oxide by 50 percent and tiny particles known as PM2.5 by 46 percent. While some of this was due to fossil fuels being replaced by renewable energy, tougher emission regulations also played a part. Sulfur dioxide emissions fell from nine million tonnes in 2007 to 2.5 million tonnes in 2015 after coal power plants were forced to fit equipment that filters the gas out to meet air quality standards.

Growth in solar and wind power

The growth in solar and wind power was dramatic, increasing tenfold from about 10 gigawatts in 2007 to roughly 100GW in 2015. “From 2007 to 2015, solar and wind power deployment increased rapidly while regulatory changes and fossil fuel price changes led to steep cuts in overall power-sector emissions,” the researchers wrote in the paper.
In 2015 alone, some 1,850 premature deaths were avoided. The researchers, led by Dr. Dev Millstein of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, also estimated the increased generation of renewable energy was worth between $5.3billion and $106.8billion in “cumulative climate benefits” over the same period.

Agriculture, floods, and human health

These include “changes to agricultural productivity, energy use, losses from disasters such as floods, human health, and general ecosystem services”.
Sam Bright, a lawyer at environmental activist group ClientEarth, which has twice successfully sued the Government over sub-standard air quality plans, stated it was clear that "moving away from coal brings major health benefits".
But he added: "It's essential that we make sure we use the opportunity the end of coal gives us to create the energy system of the future.
"That means replacing coal power stations with renewables, yes, but also making sure energy efficiency is top of the agenda and we build storage and flexibility into the system to lower and manage demand. 

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