The focus of world leaders on responding to future outbreaks overlooks the far cheaper and more effective strategy of stopping the spillover of disease from animals to humans in the first place, scientists warn.
Dirty air is already known to increase hospital treatment for severe asthma attacks and other respiratory problems. But new research is the first using clinical data to show increased illness among the much bigger number of people who seek treatment from their doctor.
Unless actions by governments and corporations cut emissions in the here and now, a dose of skepticism is in order, writes Damian Carrington, environment editor with the Guardian.
Fossil fuels, cattle and rotting waste produce methane, a greenhouse gas responsible for 30 per cent of global heating. Cutting it is the strongest action available to slow global heating in the near term, the UN's environment chief says.
