A new study by Boston University and Harvard researchers highlights the stark health benefits of energy-efficient strategies in Eastern Europe, which are up to 10 times higher than in Western Europe. The research underscores the importance of targeted, region-specific energy policies for maximizing public health and mitigating climate change.
According to a new study conducted by the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, adopting energy-efficient strategies could realize up to 10 times more health benefits in Eastern Europe than Western Europe. The research underscores the urgent need for targeted energy policies that not only address climate change but also consider the immediate health impacts of air pollution from electricity use.
The European Climate Law mandates that countries in the European Union (EU) reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. The law focuses significantly on the climate effects of energy emissions but does not give equal weight to the immediate health impacts of poor air quality, such as increased rates of asthma, lung cancer and cardiovascular disease.
“This research is another example among growing data that show how closely related energy choices are to public health,” co-author Jonathan Buonocore, an assistant professor of environmental health at BUSPH, said in a news release. “In the European Union, there would be huge benefits to both health and climate if more renewable energy or energy efficiency strategies were deployed, especially in countries using large amounts of coal.”
The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, details the dramatic differences in health burdens from electricity use based on the energy sources employed by different countries. Nations reliant on coal and oil, such as Bulgaria, Romania and Greece, face significantly higher air quality-related health burdens compared to their climate burdens.
“Saving the same amount of electricity in Estonia can deliver over 1,000 times more health benefits than in Sweden — a striking disparity that highlights the importance of targeted policies,” added lead author Gen Pei, a research associate in the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard Chan School. “It is important to identify these variations to formulate effective, targeted energy and climate policies in the EU, such as the region-based EU Energy Efficiency Directive and the country-level policies like Spanish Building Technical Code.”
In addition to their findings, researchers have developed an innovative digital tool called CoBE EU to assist EU decision-makers. The tool helps quantify the health and climate co-benefits of sustainable building development and provides insights on electricity consumption across different countries.
“With this open-access online tool, building owners, operators and policymakers can quantify the climate and health co-benefits of sustainable building development in EU countries,” Pei added.
The study also reveals the necessity for countries to differentiate between various energy sources, including biofuels, which are often classified as carbon-neutral but can emit considerable air pollutants, contributing to health burdens.
“Biofuels are considered carbon neutral, but have considerable emissions of air pollutants and associated health impacts,” added Pei. “In countries such as Estonia and Hungary, we found that the relatively high use of biofuels may contribute to their health burdens of electricity use.”
This research arrives at a crucial time, with the EU aiming for an additional 11.7% reduction in energy consumption by 2030 to meet its climate goals. The findings of the study could be instrumental in guiding policy reform to integrate public health considerations more directly into energy policy.
“We now have the capabilities to directly integrate public health considerations into energy policy,” Buonocore added. “Making these external, invisible public health and climate costs visible to energy policymakers can yield massive benefits to public health.”