Eradication of leaded petrol to save $2.4tr for global economy

Eradication of leaded petrol would “prevent more than 1.2 million premature deaths per year, increase IQ points among children, save $2.44 trillion for the global economy, and decrease crime rates,” said the UN Environment Programme on Monday.
“The successful enforcement of the ban on leaded petrol is a huge milestone for global health and our environment,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP.
Nearly a century after doctors first issued warnings about the toxic effects of leaded petrol, Algeria — the last country to use the fuel — exhausted its supplies last month, UNEP said, calling the news a landmark win in the fight for cleaner air.
Even as recently as two decades ago, more than 100 countries around the world were still using leaded petrol, despite studies linking it to premature deaths, poor health and soil and air pollution.
When UNEP launched its campaign in 2002, many major powers had already stopped using the fuel, including the US, China and India.
But the situation in lower-income nations remained dire. By 2016, after North Korea, Myanmar and Afghanistan stopped selling leaded petrol, only a handful of countries were still operating service stations providing the fuel, with Algeria finally following Iraq and Yemen in ending its reliance on the pollutant.
UNEP warned that fossil fuel use in general must still be drastically reduced to stave off the frightening effects of climate change. Vehicle sales are set to climb globally exponentially, particularly in emerging markets.
“The transport sector is responsible for nearly a quarter of energy-related global greenhouse gas emissions and is set to grow to one third by 2050,” UNEP said, adding that 1.2 billion new vehicles would hit the streets in the coming decades.
“This includes millions of poor-quality used vehicles exported from Europe, the US and Japan, to mid- and low-income countries.
“This contributes to planet warming and air polluting traffic and (is) bound to cause accidents,” the global body said.
Oil market
Oil edged higher on Monday, but remained below session highs as Hurricane Ida weakened after forcing shutdowns of US Gulf oil production, and OPEC+ looked set to go ahead with a planned oil output increase.
Brent crude rose 49 cents a barrel, or 6.7 percent to 73.19 by 12:24 ET (1624 GMT), having reached $73.69 earlier, the highest since Aug. 2. US crude rose 37 cents, or 0.51 percent to $69.11 a barrel, having earlier touched $69.64, the highest since Aug. 6.
US gasoline was up almost 2 percent, lending support to crude. Power outages added to refinery closures on the Gulf coast and traders weighed the possibility of prolonged disruptions.
Brent has rallied 40 percent this year, supported by supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, and some demand recovery from last year’s pandemic-induced collapse.
OPEC+ meets on Wednesday to discuss a scheduled 400,000 bpd increase in its oil output, in what would be a further easing of the record output cuts made last year.
OPEC delegates say they expect the increase to go ahead with the plan.