Air quality: the local co-benefit
Less fossil combustion cuts not only CO₂ but also local air pollutants. Annual means of NO₂ and particulate matter in Germany, by station type, because traffic-side levels are markedly higher than background.
A local, immediate benefit: clean air acts on health here and now, unlike the CO₂ effect, which counts globally and over decades. Both hinge on the same source: burning fossil fuels.
Station types: traffic = right at busy roads (hotspot); background = the area-wide baseline away from single sources (what most people breathe); industrial = within the influence of industrial plants.
Note: National means by station type (background/traffic/industrial), the split matters because traffic stations are markedly higher. Annual means; O₃ is deliberately omitted (a secondary pollutant with a different health metric). Values rounded.
Data source: German Environment Agency (UBA), Air Data API (dl-de/by-2.0), per-station annual balances, averaged nationally by type (own calculation).
Emissions → air → health
The air has become measurably cleaner: traffic-side NO₂ has almost halved since 2010, and all values are now below the EU limit. This was driven mainly by cleaner combustion and less fossil transport, the same levers that cut CO₂ emissions. But: most values are still above the stricter WHO guidelines (NO₂ 10, PM₂.₅ 5 µg/m³). The lever works twice over, for the climate globally, for health immediately and locally.