An increase in renewable energy use and tighter regulation have helped prevent up to 12,700 deaths in the United States over a nine-year period, new research has revealed, according to Euractiv. Between 2007 and 2015, solar and wind power capacity increased in the US from just 10GW to around 100GW.

A new study published in the Nature Energy journal claims that this ten-fold growth, coupled with changes in fossil fuel price and regulation, had the knock-on effect of preventing up premature deaths thanks to a significant reduction in emissions and subsequent air quality improvement.

US emissions fell dramatically between 2007 and 2015, thanks to increased renewable energy use and tighter rules.

The US Department of Energy-funded research found that carbon dioxide emissions fell by 20% in the period, while Sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide plummeted by 72% and 50%, respectively. Tiny particulate matter decreased by 46%.

Europe’s wind capacity grows but concerns persist

The first half of 2017 saw 6.1 gigawatts of extra wind power capacity installed in Europe. But a lack of long-term political commitment has hit investment and market concentration remains problematic.

Researchers estimated that “cumulative wind and solar air-quality benefits” in the 2007-2015 period totaled between $29 billion and $112 billion. They also claimed that between $5.3 and $106.8 billion was saved in “cumulative climate benefits” thanks to increased renewables use.

The massive financial savings were calculated by including costs that would be incurred due to healthcare bills and “changes to agricultural productivity, energy use, losses from disasters such as floods and general ecosystem services”.