Opinion: Ditching fossil fuels will have immediate health benefits for millions

At least 8.7 million early adult deaths could have been avoided in a single year if countries had already abandoned fossil fuels, say Dr Eloise Marais and researcher Karn Vohra (both UCL Geography). Carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by burning fossil fuels for energy today will only be removed from the atmosphere by natural sinks - like forests and the ocean - in the next 300 to 1,000 years. That means the climate benefits of transitioning to clean energy become apparent on far longer timescales than political term limits and election cycles. A US study, for example, found that deep cuts to emissions from the energy sector will not result in climate cooling until after 2100. The costs of mitigating climate change outweigh the immediate benefits to the climate. Politicians seeking recognition for their actions at climate change conferences like COP26 in Glasgow have little motive to deliver policies which slash emissions quickly. But there is a large, short-term benefit to eradicating fossil fuels for global health. The same fossil fuels producing the greenhouse gases warming the Earth's atmosphere also form large quantities of air pollutants.