Global warming

Geology

Climate change

Meteorology

Greenhouse gas

Environmental protection

Biology

Atmospheric sciences

Geomorphology

Geography

Aeolian processes

Ecology

Aerosol

Air pollution

Environmental science

Pollution

Fossil fuel

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Significance We assessed the effects of air pollution and greenhouse gases on public health, climate, and the hydrologic cycle. We combined a global atmospheric chemistry–climate model with air pollution exposure functions, based on an unmatched large number of cohort studies in many countries. We find that fossil-fuel-related emissions account for about 65% of the excess mortality rate attributable to air pollution, and 70% of the climate cooling by anthropogenic aerosols. We conclude that to save millions of lives and restore aerosol-perturbed rainfall patterns, while limiting global warming to 2 °C, a rapid phaseout of fossil-fuel-related emissions and major reductions of other anthropogenic sources are needed.

Effects of fossil fuel and total anthropogenic emission removal on public health and climate