US — A report released by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) on March 15, 2026, states that ambitious electric vehicle adoption could prevent 108,400 premature deaths and 42,100 pediatric asthma cases in the U.S. by 2050.

The report quantified health effects of various electrification scenarios, finding more than 41,800 premature deaths are currently attributable to road transport air pollution. The ICCT collaborated with the FIA Foundation to develop a model estimating road transport emissions through 2050.

The emissions model accounted for light-duty vehicles, heavy-duty vehicles, and two- and three-wheel vehicles. It predicted levels of nitrogen oxides, black carbon, organic carbon, sulfur oxides, ammonia, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds. The study examined health impacts including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, lung cancer, and stroke, linking them to PM2.5 and ozone exposure. The analysis also calculated pediatric asthma incidence caused by nitrogen oxides and nitrogen oxide-attributable premature mortality in adults.

One scenario projects that 100 percent of all vehicles could be zero-emissions by 2045. Under this scenario, some regions would transition all light vehicles to EVs by 2035 and all heavy vehicles by 2040. Heavy-duty vehicles, representing approximately one in 20 vehicles on the road, are responsible for 36 percent of transport energy consumption, 60 percent of tailpipe nitrogen oxides, 55 percent of tailpipe PM2.5, and 65 percent of tailpipe sulfur dioxide, according to the ICCT.

Globally, transportation pollution contributed to almost 700,000 premature deaths and nearly 250,000 new pediatric asthma cases in 2024. China recorded the highest number of premature deaths from transportation pollution, while the U.S. had 23,100 new pediatric asthma cases in 2024. The primary reference scenario for the report uses August 2025 as its baseline.

Ray Minjares, Program Director for the ICCT, stated that zero-emission freight is becoming economically viable. "Zero-emission freight makes economic sense across a growing number of routes, especially where diesel health impacts are greatest," Minjares said. He added that such policies could yield multiple benefits: "With smart policies that further drive down the cost and drive up the sales of electric freight vehicles, US states will deliver economic growth, energy savings and a pollution-free future."

Zero-emissions heavy truck adoption reached 4 percent in the second half of 2025, with a cumulative total of 72,308 zero-emissions heavy trucks nationwide by December 2025. This marked an increase of almost 20,000 more zero-emissions heavy trucks at the end of 2025 compared to the end of 2024.