As EU member states, regional and local authorities prepare to implement the revised Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD), this briefing by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) argues that decision-makers and authorities should pay particular attention to addressing socio-economic inequalities in their clean air efforts. The swift transposition and implementation of the new rules, with strengthened administrative collaboration and the full utilisation of financial support schemes, promise significant progress towards cleaner air across Europe. Improved air quality will be beneficial to everyone and contribute to preventing health inequalities for those living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.
A new report by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) now highlights that phasing out coal power in Turkey earlier (by 2030) rather than later (by 2050) would produce tremendous health benefits: It would avoid
- 102,601 premature deaths – almost 20 times more than deaths from traffic accidents in Turkey per year
- 30,975 cases of preterm births
- 67,108 new cases of chronic bronchitis in adults
- 114,683 hospital admissions
- 3,772,502 days with asthma and bronchitis symptoms in asthmatic children
- 27,606,746 lost working days
- 231,333,351 sickness days
- 419,835 cases of bronchitis in children
Importantly, avoiding these health impacts would also help cut costs from air pollution by up to 194 billion EUR or up to 3.1 trillion Turkish Lira.
English: full report and methodology
Turkish: full report, methodology and press release
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