Solar power is now less costly than fossil fuels.
September 7, 2026
Tackling air pollution and climate change together (click here) would boost global GDP by 2.8 per cent by 2035, according to a UN report, as the majority of the world continues to be exposed to air that remains below global quality standards. This compared with more than 2 per cent of GDP spent on subsidies for fossil fuels in 2022, which contribute to harms when burnt, and about 9 per cent on healthcare in 2023.
The economic case made by the report, said co-chair Shuxiao Wang, of China’s Tsinghua University, was based on measures that were not new but “proven and available in the world”.
Climate change and air pollution share many of the same drivers, including the burning of fossil fuels as well as some agricultural practices and industrial processes.
The report demonstrated that purely using market benefits, the action would create economic value each year, the authors said. Every year of delay had unrecoverable costs....
