The cost of breathing - about £65 each year

The whole atmosphere is effectively worth more than 100 times the value of the world economy (Gross World Product – GWP), according to research being presented to the annual International Conference of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) today by Professor John Thornes of the University of Birmingham’s School of Geography.

This work is the first attempt in the world to place an economic value on our global atmosphere.

Professor Thornes has developed a conservative estimate for the ‘value of air’ at one pence per cubic metre (m3) using the current price for carbon dioxide within the EU emissions trading scheme as a basis.

With each person in the UK breathing around fifteen cubic metres of air per day this equates to a potential ‘cost’ of £65 per year per person for our share of the global atmosphere for breathing alone. This is around a seventh of what the average person spends each year on gas and electricity.

Professor Thornes said: "The atmosphere is the most precious and valuable of all natural resources - yet all too often we take it for granted. The earth’s atmosphere brings an intrinsic set of natural goods and services to life on Earth. Twelve basic atmospheric ‘services’ have been identified, ranging from the air that we breathe, to the provision of natural global warming, and from the transmission of sound, to its support of air transport.

"The atmosphere is fragile and it requires very careful management and protection. Responsibility for its sustainable management should be shared equally amongst all of society for which the United Nations should establish a new ‘Law of the Atmosphere’ similar to the ‘Law of the Sea’ which has been in force since 1994. This may be especially important at a time when there is rising interest in the possible role of geo-engineering the climate on a global scale."