Study reveals three Americans create enough carbon emissions to kill one person

In the first analysis to calculate the mortal cost of carbon emissions, it has been revealed that the lifestyles of around three average Americans will create enough planet-heating emissions to kill one person.

Also, the emissions from a single coal-fired power plant are likely to result in more than 900 deaths.

The research is completely based on what is called the “social cost of carbon”.

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It is a monetary figure which is placed upon the damage caused by each ton of carbon dioxide emissions. This is done by assigning an expected death toll from the emissions that cause the climate crisis.

The research relies on several public health studies to conclude that for every 4,434 metric tons of CO2 pumped into the atmosphere beyond the 2020 rate of emissions, one person globally will die prematurely from the increased temperature.

As per Daniel Bressler of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, who wrote the paper, the figures for expected deaths from the release of emissions are definitive and may well be “a vast underestimate” as they only account for heat-related mortality rather than deaths from flooding, storms, and crop failures.

Bressler was quoted by The Guardian as saying, "There are a significant number of lives that can be saved if you pursue climate policies that are more aggressive than the business as usual scenario".

He further added, "I was surprised at how large the number of deaths are. There is some uncertainty over this, the number could be lower but it could also be a lot higher".