This report and brief provide improved estimates of the likely economic damages from climate change to the UK, highlighting where the greatest risks and need for adaptation are. These are translated into loss of socioeconomic welfare and reported as an equivalent loss of the UK’s GDP under two different policy scenarios – one in which current policies continue and another in which strong mitigation policies are put in place. Read more
Climate change impacts could cause damage to the UK equivalent to cutting the size of the economy by at least 7.4 per cent by the end of this century, unless there are stronger reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report published today (30 May 2022) by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Read more
This paper shows that the Clean Air Act in the United States substantially reduced air pollution in regulated regions in recent years, but that accounting for pre-existing trends is vital to obtaining accurate estimates. Read more
This paper uses the housing market to examine the costs of indoor air pollution. The authors focus on radon and find that as published risk levels in England show an increase, property prices decrease. Read more
The findings of this paper suggest that seemingly disparate policy actions of air pollution control and vaccination campaigns – in this case, for flu – jointly provide greater returns than those implied by addressing either problem in isolation. Read more
This paper shows that differentiating driving costs by time of day and vehicle type can help to improve urban air quality, reduce driving and induce the adoption of electric vehicles. Read more
This paper examines the significance of the ownership of natural capital in the context of natural capital accounting, illustrated with regard to two ecosystem services – carbon sequestration and air pollution removal – and a range of ecosystem types and land ownership in Scotland. Read more
Examining the relationship between contemporaneous exposure to fine particulate matter and COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, this paper, using US data, finds that fluctuations in local air quality can almost immediately impact the rate of confirmed cases and deaths from the disease. Read more
BBC Newsnight piece considers the impact of COVID-19 on efforts to tackle climate and air pollution. Starts at 22:37. 14... Read more
Does air quality influence road safety? We estimate the effect of increased air pollution on the number of road traffic... Read more
