Reducing air pollution: Policies that pay off

Date:
January 13, 2022
Source:
CNRS
Summary:
Fine particle pollution affects most of the world's population,
causing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases as well as premature
deaths, all at a cost to society. A multidisciplinary research team
has now drawn up various scenarios that would reduce the mortality
caused by fine particles by two thirds over the entire conurbation,
and has shown that the benefits obtained would exceed the costs
of the policies implemented.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Reducing fine particle mortality in a conurbation by two-thirds could be achieved at a cost that is much lower than the value of the societal and economic benefits obtained, according to a study by a multidisciplinary
team from CNRS, INSERM, INRAE, Grenoble Alpes University (UGA) and Atmo Auvergne- Rho^ne-Alpes. The study identifies specific public policies
that could achieve health objectives set by local decision makers,
as well as their expected co- benefits. The findings are published in Environment International on January 15, 2022.


========================================================================== Every year in France, fine particle pollution (particles with a diameter
of less than 2.5 micrometres1) leads to the premature death of around
40,000 people. The associated cost is estimated at EUR100 billion
per year. Despite this, public policies to combat air pollution are
generally implemented without first assessing their future health and
economic impacts.

The MobilAir project attempts to address this problem by identifying
specific policies that would meet the health objectives set by
decision-makers in the Grenoble conurbation, namely, a 67% reduction
in the mortality rate associated with fine particles from 2016 to
2030. A cost-benefit analysis of various options was carried out by
a collaboration involving the Grenoble Applied Economics Lab (CNRS /
INRAE / UGA), the Institute for Advanced Biosciences (INSERM / CNRS /
UGA), the Centre for Economics and Sociology applied to Agriculture and
Rural Areas (AgroSup Dijon / INRAE) and Atmo Auvergne-Rho^ne- Alpes.

The team targeted the two local sectors that emit the most fine particles:
wood heating and transport. They show that the health objectives can be
met by combining two measures: replacing all inefficient wood heaters by
modern pellet stoves, and reducing personal motor vehicle traffic within
the conurbation by 36%. Specifically, these policies would need to be accompanied by financial assistance to households, the development of infrastructure (public transport and/or cycle paths, etc.) and carefully targeted public awareness programmes.

Successful implementation of such policies would result in a series
of additional health benefits going beyond the health gains directly
related to fine particles, since this would promote physical activity,
and reduce urban noise pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Scenarios involving the most widespread development of active modes of transport
(walking and cycling) would lead to a net benefit of EUR8.7 billion
over the period 2016-2045, i.e. an annual benefit of EUR629 per capita
in the conurbation2.

This is the first study in France to demonstrate that the societal
benefits associated with measures to improve air quality would outweigh
the cost of such measures. It thus provides decision-makers with
scientifically validated approaches to significantly improving health throughout the conurbation.

This work was funded by the Initiative of Excellence (Idex) of Grenoble
Alpes University and by ADEME.

Notes 1 More than 30 times finer than a hair.

2 This benefit was calculated as the difference between the health
benefits of the measures (whether tangible, such as lower medical
costs and sick leave, or intangible, such as improved quality of life
and mortality rates), and the investments and costs, both private and
for the community, associated with these measures. Put another way,
depending on the scenario, each euro invested by the community would
generate between EUR1.1 and EUR4.7 of societal benefit.

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========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. He'le`ne Bouscasse, Stephan Gabet, Glen Kerneis, Ariane Provent,
Camille
Rieux, Nabil Ben Salem, Harry Dupont, Florence Troude, Sandrine
Mathy, Re'my Slama. Designing local air pollution policies
focusing on mobility and heating to avoid a targeted number
of pollution-related deaths: Forward and backward approaches
combining air pollution modeling, health impact assessment and
cost-benefit analysis. Environment International, 2022; 159:
107030 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.107030 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220113111448.htm
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