“Vehicle emissions are an important source of urban air pollution. As the world’s largest market for new energy vehicles (NEVs), China has rapidly expanded NEV adoption to support green development. However, the environmental and health benefits of this transition remain unclear.  Here, using high-resolution satellite-retrieved data and interpretable  machine learning techniques, this study quantified the impact of NEVs  on atmospheric pollution, specifically particulate matter particles with  an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM 2.5 ), nitrogen dioxide,  carbon monoxide and particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm  or less, and evaluates the corresponding health benefits. By 2023, NEVs led to reductions of 23.80% in particles with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less  (8.97 μg m −3 ) and 30.67% in carbon monoxide (0.26 mg m −3 ), resulting in the prevention of approximately 262,000 non-accidental deaths and 75,000 all-cause deaths, respectively. Benefits were concentrated in economically developed cities, and reductions in coarse particles and nitrogen dioxide  (1.81 μg m −3 ) were low.”

From Nature.