The price of exposure

By O.M. and G.D.

Emissions put more than just the climate at risk

SOME of the measures which could do much to reduce the risks of climate change would also do good in other ways. Coal-fire power stations are prodigious producers not just of carbon dioxide, but also of small airborne particles that cause disease. They are responsible for a significant fraction of the 4m deaths from outdoor air pollution that the world suffers every year—a toll greater than that for any disease, and which has a huge economic effect. Getting rid of coal-fired power stations, and reducing the pollution from cars, would save a lot of lives in the near future as well as help stabilise the climate further on down the line. See our story in this week's issue here.