Beyond climate: Why phasing out fossil fuels is critical for global health

A new global report, ‘Cradle to Grave: The Health Toll of Fossil Fuels and the Imperative for a Just Transition', reveals the devastating impacts of fossil fuel extraction and sounds a powerful alarm about a mounting public health emergency. Special attention is given to Asia and India, where populations face uniquely severe consequences from the fossil fuel industry’s persistent expansion.

The report by the Global Climate and Health Alliance offers the first comprehensive global overview of the health consequences associated with fossil fuel use at every stage of their lifecycle, from extraction to waste, and across the human lifespan, from pregnancy and pre-birth to old age.

Key findings:

• Fossil fuel-related pollution affects every stage of life: from fetal development to old age.
• Fossil fuels cause severe health harms at every stage of their lifecycle: extraction, refining, transport, storage, combustion, and disposal.
• Harm doesn’t end with initial exposure: the health impacts of fossil fuels are persistent and systemic.
• Fossil fuel health harms are unevenly and unjustly distributed in communities and across nations.
• Fossil fuels drive wider societal health impacts and exacerbate other pre-existing health disparities in communities and between nations.
• Climate policy and health policies have largely overlooked the multidimensional health harms associated with fossil fuels.
• The cost of inaction is rising by the day: Global fossil fuel subsidies have reached an estimated US$7 trillion, comprising both explicit subsidies, such as tax breaks and price caps, and implicit subsidies resulting from the unpriced health, environmental, and societal damages caused by fossil fuel production and use.

Throughout Asia and India, the report documents heightened risks faced by communities living near extraction and energy infrastructure, particularly coal mines. In places like Korba, India, children and elders struggle with respiratory diseases such as asthma, while rates of birth defects, skin infections, and waterborne illnesses are alarmingly high due to local environmental pollution. Case studies from Jharia, India, and the fallout from coal seam fires exemplify how these chronic health burdens cut across generations.

The report also notes that the damage goes well beyond local communities. Chemicals from fossil fuel waste, including lead and mercury, persist for decades in soil, water, and food chains, multiplying the risk of chronic disease across nations. Extreme weather events such as cyclones, typhoons, and heatwaves are exacerbated by fossil fuel-driven climate change. This further strains health systems and undermines public health security, particularly in Asia’s coastal and low-lying regions.

Economic analysis in the report illustrates the staggering public cost of inaction. The world spends an estimated US $7 trillion per year supporting the fossil fuel industry, both directly and indirectly, through unpriced damages to health, ecosystems, and social stability. In many parts of Asia, these subsidies perpetuate dependence on polluting fuels and deepen health inequalities.

Despite the overwhelming scientific and testimonial evidence, the report criticises governments and health leaders for failing to confront fossil fuel harms decisively. It urges immediate action, especially in the world’s fastest-growing economies, to halt all new fossil fuel projects, set clear deadlines to phase out existing infrastructure, and redirect public funds toward renewable energy, clean air, and health resilience.

Asian and Indian health professionals cited in the report emphasise that the true cost of continued fossil fuel reliance is measured in lost lives and shattered communities. The report’s overarching message is that a just and rapid transition to renewable energy is both necessary and achievable—not only for climate reasons but as a fundamental prescription for public health, social justice, and a safer future for all.