– credit, David VekslerMore than a quarter million people are still alive thanks to improvements in air quality linked to “new energy” vehicles in the world’s largest auto market.
With more than 50% of all new cars sold last year in China being hybrids, EVs, or hydrogen-powered, the speed of the adoption has been incredible both for the market itself, but also for public health statistics.
Some 262,000 premature deaths attributable to car exhaust’s effect on the risk for lung cancer, stroke, respiratory diseases, and heart attack, along with 75,000 all-cause deaths estimated to be a result of air pollution, have been avoided according to a study using pollution data modeling.
Around 4 million people are believed to die from these each year, including 1 million in China alone.
Fossil fuel vehicles release a variety of pollutants from the tailpipe, including fine particulate matter of less than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5), carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide.
A study published on May 13th in Nature Health looked at satellite data from 150 Chinese cities. The authors estimated how much pollution has been removed by the adoption of new energy vehicles, and compared it to a counterfactual in which all cars were still fossil fuel powered—easy enough since this was the reality in China just 15 years ago.
The results were a 23.8% reduction in PM2.5, and a 30% reduction in carbon monoxide, resulting in some 320,000 fewer deaths from air pollution.
Comparatively, the authors found a very small, almost insignificant reduction in nitrous oxide, which they attributed to the diesel semi trucks still used across the majority of the country to transport goods and merchandise. Their long-distance routes and heavy tonnage make them challenging to electrify, although Australia is giving it the best shot.China has waged a very successful war on pollution over the last 10 years, with the “Beijing Blue” being a surprising new weather phenomenon over the capital. EV Popularity in China Accounts for 262,000 Fewer Deaths from Air Pollution
