Economic cost of pollution: $6 trillion/year
One estimate places the annual economic cost of air pollution at $6 trillion — about 5% of global GDP.
Where this was said
Michael Greenstone: The Greatest Threat to Human Health
At 8:15 · chapter starts 6:55
Greenstone, who co-directs the Climate Impact Lab and spent a year working on climate policy in the Obama White House, introduces the Air Quality Life Index — a satellite-data tool that calculates how much longer people would live if local pollution met WHO standards. The answer is striking: 2.2 years per person on average globally. [2] — Michael Greenstone "Average life lost to pollution: 2.2 years: Michael Greenstone's Air Quality Life Index estimates the average person on Earth lives 2.2 year…" 07:26 The WHO estimates roughly 7 million people die every year from fine particle exposure — more than double COVID deaths in 2020 and more than five times annual car-crash fatalities. [1] — Michael Greenstone "It's worse than cigarette smoking. It's worse than wars. It's worse than auto accidents." 07:40 The economic cost is estimated as high as $6 trillion per year, about 5% of global GDP. Greenstone's framing sets the episode's central tension: we know pollution is catastrophic for physical health, but have we been systematically ignoring its effects on the brain?
The Air Quality Life Index: 2.2 Years Stolen Per Person
Michael Greenstone's Air Quality Life Index calculates how much longer people would live if local pollution met WHO standards. The answer: the average person on Earth loses 2.2 years of life to dirty air.
Average life lost to pollution: 2.2 years
Michael Greenstone's Air Quality Life Index estimates the average person on Earth lives 2.2 years less than they would if local pollution met WHO standards.
7M deaths/year from air pollution
The WHO estimates roughly 7 million people die every year from exposure to fine particles in polluted air — at least double global COVID deaths in 2020.
11% of Chinese air pollution deaths traced to US/Western Europe
A 2007 Nature study found that 11% of Chinese air pollution deaths could be traced to goods and services consumed in the United States and Western Europe.
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