Boston – In response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new pollution standards for cars, Dr. Gaurab Basu, primary care physician and director of policy and education at the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, released the following statement:
“The new EPA vehicle pollution standards are a victory for public health. Transportation remains the number one cause of emissions in the United States and a major contributor to air pollution. This results in children being in the emergency room instead of school because of asthma exacerbations. It contributes to heatwaves that are dangerous and deadly for our elderly and to extreme weather events that destabilize the healthcare system’s ability to provide excellent care to their patients. And poor communities and communities of color are disproportionally impacted.
These EPA regulations will help move us to a clean transportation future, provide $13 billion annually in public health benefits, and help us fight climate change. Above all, they will help save thousands of lives.
We must work together with urgency at the local, state, and federal level to ensure we rid ourselves of the health harms from the burning of fossil fuels, and build a world that is healthier and more equitable.”
