New research published in a special issue of the journalLancet Planetary Health,emphasizes
Countries covered in the studyrepresent 50% of the world's population and responsible for 70% of global emissions. We are talking about Brazil, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa, Great Britain and the USA.
The signatories of the Paris Agreementare updating and revising their NDCs ahead of COP26 this year. COP26 is the 2021 United Nations (UN) climate change conference. The meeting will be the 26th UN Climate Conference and will be held in Glasgow, Scotland from 1 to 12 November 2021 under the UK Presidency.
Now NDCs around the world are not strong enoughto meet the Paris Agreement targets, which increases the risk of a global temperature rise of more than 3 ° C. The study authors emphasize that lives saved through better nutrition, cleaner air and vigorous exercise provide further justification for strengthening commitment.
Our report focuses onan important but often overlooked driver for addressing climate change. Unlike the direct benefits of reducing carbon emissions, which are ultimately long-term, the health co-benefits from ambitious climate policies have an immediate positive impact.
Ian Hamilton, lead author of the study
Working towards the Paris Climate Agreement plan will prevent the premature deaths of millions of people every year, and will transform the quality of life of millions more through better health.
For each country, the emissions generatedthe energy, agriculture and transport sectors, as well as annual mortality due to air pollution, risk factors associated with diet and physical inactivity were estimated in 2040 for three different NDC scenarios. The baseline scenario looks at the current NDC policy, the second scenario looks at the NDC policy in line with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, and the third scenario looks at the added value of implementing clear health goals under the sustainable paths scenario.
In all nine countries, the scenario correspondingThe Paris Agreement could save 5.8 million lives through better nutrition, 1.2 million lives through cleaner air and 1.2 million lives through increased exercise. More than 10 million lives in total. All these factors are influenced by climate change. Taking a more ambitious path with clear health targets under the NDC will further reduce 462,000, 572,000 and 943,000 annual deaths associated with air pollution, diet and physical inactivity, respectively.
The authors note that the number of deathsprevented due to air pollution, diet and physical activity were modeled separately, so they cannot be added together as they cannot explain the crosshairs of potential deaths prevented due to three factors. As the simulations predict future possible scenarios, they also note that the estimates were based on various assumptions about future demographic and socio-economic trends.
The health benefits of increased commitment toNDC is being achieved both by directly mitigating the effects of climate change and by supporting action to reduce exposure to harmful pollutants, improve diets and ensure safer physical activity.
For example, the widespread acceptance of flexitarianDiets that reduce consumption of red meat, animal foods and processed foods will not only reduce methane emissions, but also improve people's health, the Lancet reports. The use of alternative sources of transportation will reduce the amount of harmful emissions and improve the functioning of the human cardiovascular system.
Impact of each of the three health indicatorsvaries from country to country. The countries that benefit most proportionately from improved diets are Germany, followed by the United States and China. It's worth noting that deficiencies in fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts combined are a greater problem for overall health than the risk associated with eating too much red meat, according to research.
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