The United Nations says the world’s last stockpile of leaded gasoline has been burned up, completing a worldwide phaseout of the toxic additive tetraethyl lead after a century of use. The fuel additive improved engine performance but led to the widespread contamination of air, water and soil. The U.N. said the phaseout of leaded gasoline will protect children from brain damage and will prevent more than 1.2 million premature deaths each year from heart disease, strokes and cancer. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday called on nations to build on the environmental victory.

Secretary-General António Guterres: “We must now turn the same commitment to ending the triple crisis of climate disruption, biodiversity loss and pollution. We need to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. We need global mobility with no emissions at all.”