Cradle to grave: The health harms of fossil fuel dependence and the case for a just phase-out

The document details how fossil fuel extraction, production, and combustion cause severe health harms, including respiratory diseases, cancers, and cardiovascular issues, while contributing to the global climate crisis. It highlights the economic burden of these health impacts, the role of fossil fuel subsidies in perpetuating harm, and proposes sector-specific solutions and a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to ensure a just transition.

• Fossil fuel activities cause health harms throughout their entire lifecycle, from extraction and refining to transport and combustion. Proximity to extraction sites is linked to respiratory conditions, cardiovascular disease, liver damage, and developmental defects, while refinery workers face risks of terminal diseases like black lung and silicosis.
• Fossil fuel combustion is a primary driver of air pollution and climate change, leading to millions of annual deaths. Outdoor air pollution from these sources causes between 3.6 million and 8 million deaths per year, with coal combustion accounting for over half of these fatalities.
• The economic costs of health impacts from fossil fuel use are immense and often exceed the subsidies provided to the industry. In 2018, the health and economic costs of air pollution from burning fossil fuels were US$ 2.9 trillion, or 3.3% of global GDP. In G20 countries, health costs were found to be six times higher than the amount invested in fossil fuel subsidies.
• Fossil fuel dependence disproportionately affects marginalized communities and the Global South, creating 'sacrifice zones' where pollution is concentrated. While the Global North was responsible for 92% of excess GHG emissions as of 2015, the most severe impacts fall on those least responsible and with the least power for redress.
• Short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), specifically black carbon, methane, and tropospheric ozone, are responsible for up to 45% of current global warming. Methane is over 80 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year period and has driven 30% of the temperature rise since the industrial revolution.
• A just phase-out requires sector-specific transitions: replacing coal and gas electricity with renewables, adopting green hydrogen for steel, moving to agroecological farming to replace nitrogen-based fertilizers, and transitioning transport to active and electric systems. The document argues that carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a 'false solution' that is net-additive to CO2 emissions.

APA

Global Climate and Health Alliance (2022). Cradle to grave: The health harms of fossil fuel dependence and the case for a just phase-out. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Cradle-To-Grave-Fossil-Fuels-Brief.pdf

Chicago

Global Climate and Health Alliance. Cradle to grave: The health harms of fossil fuel dependence and the case for a just phase-out. 2022. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Cradle-To-Grave-Fossil-Fuels-Brief.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Climate and Health Alliance |title=Cradle to grave: The health harms of fossil fuel dependence and the case for a just phase-out |date=July 2022 |url=https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Cradle-To-Grave-Fossil-Fuels-Brief.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalclimateandhealthalliance2022cradle, author = {{Global Climate and Health Alliance}}, title = {{Cradle to grave: The health harms of fossil fuel dependence and the case for a just phase-out}}, institution = {Global Climate and Health Alliance}, year = {2022}, month = jul, url = {https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Cradle-To-Grave-Fossil-Fuels-Brief.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }