EEA Report Says ‘Tackling Climate Change’ Will Save Lives, $15 Billion

A brief status report from the European Environment Agency (EEA)notes that “tackling climate change will improve Europe’s air quality, cut premature deaths and could save €12 billion [$15.4 billion] annually in air pollution control costs by 2030.”

The EEA also indicated that “reducing greenhouse gas emissions, by burning smaller amounts of fossil fuels, will mean less air pollution. As a result the cost of tackling air pollution will be cut significantly.”

In an upcoming report – Air quality and ancillary benefits from climate change policies – scheduled to be released soon, the EEA said it will take the position that “stringent EU climate change policies (aimed at limiting temperature rise to 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels by 2030) will offer extra or ‘ancillary’ benefits. Not only will tougher climate change policies help clean up Europe’s air quality, they will also reduce the annual number of premature deaths caused by air pollution. The report acknowledges that specific air pollution policy will still be needed.”

The complete report may be consulted on the agency’s Website at: http://reports.eea.europa.eu.