US wind and solar power helped prevent up to 12,700 deaths in 2015

The massive increase in wind and solar energy helped prevent the premature deaths of up to 12,700 people in a single year in the US, according to new research which illustrates the wider benefits of ditching fossil fuels beyond limiting global warming.

The improved air quality resulting from fewer carbon emissions was worth anything from nearly $30bn to more than $110bn,according to a paper about the study published in the journal,Nature Energy.

The UK Government has pledged that the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles will be banned from 2040 – a deadline criticised by environmentalists as being too far in the

future to make a difference. In contrast, Norway plans to phase out such vehicles by 2025.

According to the Royal College of Physicians, about 40,000 deaths a year in the UK are “attributable to exposure to outdoor air pollution”, which has been associated with “cancer, asthma, stroke and heart disease, diabetes, obesity and changes linked to dementia”.