A quarter of deaths caused by environmental degradation, says UN

A new United Nations report warns that pollution and global warming are causing millions more deaths than conflicts. The UN’s environment agency has called for an urgent roll-back on harmful substances and fossil fuels.

In its report “Healthy Environment, Health People,” the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the World Health Organization and several other environment organizations said that, in 2012, an estimated 12.6 million deaths were attributable to deteriorating environment conditions.

The largest numbers of deaths took place in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific regions, followed by sub-Saharan Africa, where around a quarter of deaths were likely caused by air pollution,chemicals, climate change and a lack of access to sanitation. Read More….