环境保护组织周三（2月12日）发表研究报告指出，全球每天因燃烧化石燃料产生的空气污染而损失80亿美元（约111亿新元），占日生产商品和服务总价值的3％以上。这主要是因为空气污染导致人们病倒，无法工作并需要医疗服务。
据这份由设在雅加达的绿色和平东南亚分部撰写的报告，燃烧煤炭、石油和天然气等化石燃料产生的空气污染，每年导致约450万人死亡，是死于道路交通意外的三倍多。
这与世界卫生组织的估计相近。根据世卫组织，全球每年有420万人因近地面的空气污染而丧命，他们的死因多半是心脏病、中风、肺癌和孩童急性呼吸道感染。
报告估计，燃烧化石燃料与及由此产生的空气污染，每年使全球蒙受约2.9万亿美元的经济损失，相当于全球国内生产总值（GDP）的3.3％。其中，美国、中国和印度付出的代价最大，分别为9000亿、6000亿和1500亿美元。
这是首度有研究针对燃烧化石燃料造成的空污以及相关损失作出评估。报告指出，空气污染会提高患中风、哮喘和肺癌等疾病的风险，全球劳动队伍每年因吸入燃烧化石燃料产生的污染物而总计缺勤约18亿天，相关经济损失约为1010亿美元。
This report reveals the cost of air pollution from fossil fuels and highlights solutions that can protect our health and benefit our communities. Air pollution generated from burning fossil fuels is attributed to approximately 4.5 million premature deaths worldwide every year, the report shows. Air pollution increases the incidence of chronic and acute illnesses and contributes to millions of hospital visits and billions of work absences due to illness each year. It also damages our economies and the environment.
For the first time, Greenpeace Southeast Asia and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) have quantified the global cost of air pollution from fossil fuels, finding that it has reached an estimated US$8 billion per day, or roughly 3.3% of the world’s GDP. While coal, oil and vehicle companies continue to push outdated technologies, our health and our communities are paying the price.
Yet while toxic air pollution is a global threat, the solutions are increasingly available and affordable. Moreover, many of the solutions to air pollution are also the solutions to climate change. Renewable energy and clean energy-powered mass transport systems not only reduce toxic air pollution, but are also critical to limiting the global temperature increase to below 1.5 °C from pre-industrial levels.
Source: Zaobao / AFP / Green Peace
报告原文 | Link to report
