The non-climate-change related benefits of emissions reduction are substantial

A thing that doesn’t get talked about enough is the accompanying benefits of reducing CO2 emissions. This new paper does that and puts a dollar value on those benefits: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egycc.2024.100165.

When we stop emitting CO2 to the air, we also stop emitting a lot of other pollutants that increase people’s risks of cardiovascular disease and cancer and other problems. This analysis estimates $65 to $250 billion in annual benefits from this reduction in non-CO2 emissions, for only partly achieving zero emissions goals. That’s big.