A new report from Greenpeace Southeast Asia and the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) found that air pollution from burning coal, oil, and natural gas accounts for an estimated 4.5 million deaths each year worldwide. The report is the first of its kind to assess the global cost of air pollution from fossil fuels.
Researchers also estimate global economic losses from fossil fuel air pollution at $2.9 trillion each year, or approximately 3.3 percent of global GDP. In the United States alone, air pollution from burning fossil fuels is linked to an estimated 230,000 deaths and $600 billion in economic losses annually.
