The burning of fossil fuels causes more than four million premature deaths worldwide, and saps about US$8 Billion a day out of the gobal economy.

"Air pollution is a threat to our health and our economies," said Minwoo Son, clean air campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia.  "Every year, air pollution from fossil fuels takes millions of lives, increases our risk of stroke, lung cancer and asthma, and costs us trillions of dollars," he added.

Among the findings from the report from Greenpeace Southeast Asia and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air:  Around 40,000 children die each year before they reach their fifth birthday because of exposure to particulate pollution from fossil fuels.  The mortalities are heavily skewed to low income countries.  And roughly four million new cases of asthma in children are discovered each year, caused by nitrogen dioxide (NO2) created by gasoline and diesel vehicles as well as factory and industrial output.

"This is a problem that we know how to solve," said Son.  "By transitioning to renewable energy sources, phasing out diesel and petrol cars, and building public transport.  We need to take into account the real cost of fossil fuels, not just for our rapidly heating planet, but also for our health."