Fact of the Week: Discontinuing Combustion Vehicle Sales Could Save up to $188 Billion in Health-Care Costs

Source: Jean Schmitt, et al., "Health Benefits of US Light-Duty Vehicle Electrification: Roles of Fleet Dynamics, Clean Electricity, and Policy Timing,"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 121, no. 43, (October 2024).

Commentary: Reducing sales and usage of combustion vehicles would have direct impacts on public health, reducing pollution-related illness. According to a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, between $84 billion and $188 billion could be saved in public health expenditures between 2022 and 2050 by prohibiting the sale of new combustion-powered vehicles. However, these impacts can only be fully realized if electricity is powered by low-emitting sources, such as renewable energy, hydrogen, and nuclear power. In this scenario, all regions of the United States will see increased per-capita health benefits. However, if the electric grid is not decarbonized, the car industry's electrification would increase public health expenditures by between $32 and $71 billion by 2050. In this scenario, urban centers would see benefits while suburban and rural areas, particularly those near coal and natural gas plants, would face heightened costs.