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Thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars have been saved in the United States by recent reductions in emissions from vehicles, according to researchers.
The impact of declines in emissions from vehicles over a decade was examined by Harvard University researchers. The number of deaths dropped from 27,700 in 2008 to 19,800 in 2017, and the economic benefits of the reduction in emissions totaled $270 billion.
The researchers found that if vehicles continued to emit air pollution in 2008 levels, the death total in the year would have been higher.
Cars, pickup trucks and SUVs made up a large portion of the health burden reduced by tougher regulations on fossil fuel companies and vehicle manufacturers, according to a study.
The researchers found that the benefits were limited by an aging population and drivers buying larger cars.
"Despite substantial progress in reducing emissions, you have this counteracting effect of population and larger vehicles," said Ernani Choma, an environmental health researcher at Harvard and lead author of the study. It will be hard to achieve substantial progress if we don't have more stringent policies.
The study paints a more precise picture of how emissions affect public health than has been done before, according to experts not affiliated with the research team.
The University of Minnesota's air quality researcher said that good environmental policy has reduced transportation emissions. Keeping track of a lot of other moving parts is hard to understand the benefits of emissions controls. The authors do a great job.
Climate benefits from curbing air pollution from vehicles made up 3% to 19% of the economic gains, according to the study.
Susan Anenberg, associate professor of environmental and occupational health and global health at George Washington University, said that most approaches for reducing transportation emissions in the U.S. have been aimed at reducing air pollution.
"Diesel particulate filters are taking pollutants out of the environment, but they aren't doing anything for carbon dioxide," she said.
Choma and his colleagues recommend tougher policies to curb emissions. He said that the policies that created the health benefits highlighted in the study won't be as effective in the future if the upward trend in population and vehicle size continues.
He said that deaths from vehicle emissions will only decline if we look ahead to 2030. That's the case for more stringent policies.
There are health benefits of decreases in on-road transportation emissions in the United States from 2008 to 2017. There is a book titled "10.1073/pnas.2107402118."
The National Academy of Sciences has a journal.
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The study found that vehicle emission declines decreased deaths.
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