Reduction of Global Life Expectancy Driven by Trade-Related Transboundary Air Pollution

Air pollution globalization, as a combined effect of atmospheric transport and international trade, can lead to notable transboundary health impacts. Life expectancy reduction attribution analysis of transboundary pollution can reveal the effect of pollution globalization on the lives of individuals. This study coupled five state-of-the-art models to link the regional per capita life expectancy reduction to cross-boundary pollution transport attributed to consumption in other regions. Our results revealed that pollution due to consumption in other regions contributed to a global population-weighted PM2.5 concentration of 9 μg/m3 in 2017, thereby causing 1.03 million premature deaths and reducing the global average life expectancy by 0.23 year (≈84 days). Trade-induced transboundary pollution relocation led to a significant reduction in life expectancy worldwide (from 5 to 155 days per person), and even in the least polluted regions, such as North America, Western Europe, and Russia, a 12–61-day life expectancy reduction could be attributed to consumption in other regions. Our results reveal the individual risks originating from air pollution globalization. To protect human life, all regions and residents worldwide should jointly act together to reduce atmospheric pollution and its globalization as soon as possible.