Affluent countries inflict inequitable mortality and economic loss on Asia via PM2.5 emissions

• Published in: Environment international Vol. 134; p. 105238
• Main Authors: Nansai, Keisuke, Tohno, Susumu, Chatani, Satoru, Kanemoto, Keiichiro, Kurogi, Midori, Fujii, Yuta, Kagawa, Shigemi, Kondo, Yasushi, Nagashima, Fumiya, Takayanagi, Wataru, Lenzen, Manfred
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-01-2020; Elsevier
• Subjects: Consumption-based accounting; Foregone labor output; Input–output analysis; International trade; Premature mortality; Foregone labor output; International trade; Consumption-based accounting; Input–output analysis; Premature mortality
• ISSN: 0160-4120; 1873-6750
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105238

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•We analyzed PM2.5 impacts in Asia caused by consumption in the five affluent nations.•In 2010, consumption induced over 1 million premature deaths in Asia due to PM2.5.•The premature deaths included 15,000 children younger than 5 years old.•Almost 45 billion US dollars were lost due to the premature deaths.•Economic loss per value-added driven by the nations differed among impacted regions.
This research sets out to quantify the mortality and economic loss in individual Asian countries caused by the PM2.5 emissions induced by the consumption of the world’s five highest-consuming countries (US, China, Japan, Germany, UK). In 2010 alone, the economic impact of these five countries’ consumption caused a loss of almost 45 billion US dollars due to the premature deaths of more than 1 million people in Asia, including 15 thousand children younger than 5 years old. The percentage ratio of economic loss to value-added driven by consumers via trade differed greatly among the impacted countries. For the US, the highest percentage loss was 4.1% in Laos, followed by 2.0% in Bangladesh, both markedly higher than the figures for the more developed countries, such as 0.21% for Japan and 0.18% for Korea. This reflects the inequitable value chain existing between consumer countries and impacted countries, and implies that developing countries are obtaining value-added in exchange for unintentionally increased health risks, delaying their development and potentially creating a vicious circle that hinders much-needed improvements in areas like poverty reduction and public health. This inequitable situation needs to be redressed through introduction of clean energy and other types of technological assistance to help achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 7, 10 and 13. Such as move is essential if premature infant deaths are to be curtailed.