New Lancet Series Urges Global Action on Energy Access and Health

A global shift toward cleaner energy could prevent more than 11 million deaths worldwide in the coming decades, according to a new series published in The Lancet. The authors highlight how energy access—and the type of energy people rely on—has profound consequences for human health, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

The series, “Energy & Health in Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries,” examines how energy poverty, household fuel use, and electricity access affect disease, health systems, and global climate goals.

The series was conceived and shepherded by Thomas Clasen, PhD, Rose Salamone Gangarosa Professor at the Rollins School of Public Health, who contributed to four of the six papers. The articles examine global trends in energy access, the health effects of household energy use, the need for reliable electricity in health care facilities, and opportunities for cleaner energy transitions.

“Right now, energy is top of mind for leaders around the world,” says Clasen. “As this series emphasizes, energy use has global ramifications that are directly tied to human health.”

The series begins with a paper by Clasen that highlights the scale of energy poverty, which affects billions of people worldwide. The authors note that:

• Despite massive increases in energy consumption globally in the last decades, access remains highly unequal with billions in low- and middle-income countries still suffering from energy poverty that contributes to a large and persistent disease burden.
• Cooking with biomass fuels—such as wood, dung, or charcoal—causes more than 3 million deaths each year.
• Energy access disparities disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, particularly women and girls.

These challenges extend beyond households. Reliable electricity is essential for health care systems, from powering medical equipment to safely storing vaccines.

Another article published alongside the series explores the economic and health benefits of climate action. That paper was led by Noah Scovronick, PhD, associate professor of environmental health at Rollins, who contributed to two papers in the series.

“The health co-benefits from reducing greenhouse gas emissions will be on the order of 11 million avoided deaths or more globally over the next few decades,” says Scovronick. “Most of those will be in low- and middle-income countries.”

The findings highlight a difficult dilemma. Many countries that have contributed the least to climate change face the biggest decisions about how quickly to transition to cleaner energy.

“This sets up a trade-off whereby low- and middle-income countries, who tend to have the least responsibility for climate change, have to decide between spending less on greenhouse gas reductions and gaining fewer health benefits, or spending more but gaining more,” Scovronick says.

The series underscores how energy policy, climate action, and public health are deeply interconnected—and why global energy decisions today could shape health outcomes for decades.