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The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) stated that leaded gasoline is no longer used globally. This is a “milestone” that will prevent more than 1.2 million premature deaths and save more than US$2.4 trillion in the world economy every year.
The Environment Agency said on Monday that nearly a century after doctors first warned about the toxic effects of leaded gasoline, Algeria — the last country to use the fuel — ran out of supplies last month. The Environment Agency said on Monday, The news is a milestone victory in the fight for clean air.
“Successful implementation of the leaded gasoline ban is a huge milestone for global health and our environment,” said Inger Anderson, Executive Director of the Environment Agency based in Nairobi.
Even as recently as 20 years ago, more than 100 countries in the world were still using leaded gasoline, although studies have linked it to premature death, poor health, and soil and air pollution.
In 1924, an oil refinery operated by the American giant Standard Oil was dubbed by employees as the “crazy natural gas mansion”. Dozens of workers were hospitalized with convulsions, and five of them were declared dead.
Nevertheless, until the 1970s, almost all gasoline sold worldwide contained lead.
When the UNEP launched this campaign in 2002, many major economic powers, including the United States, China, and India, had stopped using this fuel. But the situation in low-income countries remains severe.
By 2016, after North Korea, Myanmar and Afghanistan stopped selling leaded gasoline, only a few countries were still operating gas stations that provided fuel. Algeria finally followed Iraq and Yemen to end its dependence on pollutants.
In a statement, the UNEP stated that eliminating leaded gasoline will “prevent more than 1.2 million premature deaths each year, increase children’s intelligence quotient, and save US$2.44 trillion. [2.07 trillion euros] For the global economy and reduce the crime rate”.
The agency stated that the dollar figures came from a study led by scientists at California State University Northridge in 2010.
The key factors are the improvement of the overall economic health, the reduction of medical costs, and the reduction of criminal activities-previously, the increase in crime rates was related to exposure to leaded fuels.
‘The end of a toxic era’
The Environment Agency warned that the use of fossil fuels as a whole must still be drastically reduced to avoid the terrible effects of climate change.
Greenpeace called the news “a celebration of the end of a toxic era.”
“This clearly shows that if we can eliminate one of the most dangerous polluting fuels of the 20th century, we can absolutely eliminate all fossil fuels,” said Thandile Chinyavanhu, Greenpeace Africa’s climate and energy activist.
“African governments can no longer make excuses for the fossil fuel industry,” she added.
Globally, car sales will increase exponentially, especially in emerging markets.
The United Nations Environment Programme stated: “The transportation sector accounts for nearly a quarter of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions and will increase to a third by 2050,” adding that there will be 1.2 billion new cars in the next few decades. Hit the road.
“This includes millions of low-quality used cars exported from Europe, the United States and Japan to low- and middle-income countries.
“This will cause global warming and air pollution, traffic and [is] It will inevitably cause accidents,” the global agency said.
Earlier this month, a Blockbuster report The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that by 2030 the average temperature of the earth will be 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the pre-industrial period.
Ten years earlier than expected, this rise has already sounded the alarm for the use of fossil fuels.
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