The European Code Against Cancer is right to place air pollution firmly on the policy agenda, as your report highlights (Tackling air pollution should be part of government work to cut cancer rates, scientists say, 6 March). But buying air filters and limiting wood burning at home aren’t solving the issue at its root. If governments are serious about mitigating climate-related health issues, they need to tackle the problem at its source: energy.
Energy accounts for more than three-quarters of total greenhouse gas emissions globally. That matters not only for the climate, but for the air we breathe. The fossil fuels that power much of today’s energy system release harmful pollutants such as fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxides when they are burned. The way we produce and use energy is a major driver of both climate change and harmful air pollution. Addressing both requires fundamentally rethinking energy systems.
