New study doubles estimate of global mortality from fossil fuel pollution

A new study has found that air pollution from fossil fuels was responsible for more than 8.7 million deaths globally in 2018. This death toll exceeds the combined total of people who die globally each year from smoking tobacco plus those who die of malaria. The study was published in the journal Environmental Research earlier this month. We talk with Eloise Marais, Associate Professor in Physical Geography at University College, London and one of the authors of the study.