dotlah! dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
Social Links
  • zedreviews.com
  • citi.io
  • aster.cloud
  • liwaiwai.com
  • guzz.co.uk
  • atinatin.com
0 Likes
0 Followers
0 Subscribers
dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
  • People
  • Technology

Clean Air Is A Valuable Economic Asset. Here Are 4 Steps To Achieve It

  • January 31, 2024
Cloud
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0

The benefits of clean air extend well beyond the environment; it is also key to human health.

  • Dirty skies continue to dominate headlines, with the annual death toll due to outdoor air pollution now at 8 million people worldwide.
  • Air pollution has well-documented adverse effects on health, but the issue of clean air often falls through the cracks of global negotiations.
  • The newly-launched Our Common Air global commission outlines four steps that will be key to to accelerate collective action for clean air.

There is no dearth of headlines on air pollution from Dubai to Delhi to DC. And every year they get starker. At COP28, the first ‘Health Day’ was ironically marked by the Dubai skyline being covered by smog, and the publication of the latest report giving us the annual death toll from outdoor air pollution which now stands at more than 8 million people worldwide each year.

There is mounting scientific evidence about the impact of pollution. According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 70,000 scientific papers which show that air pollution adversely affects our health.

For people who face these health implications – from persistent coughs to lung cancer to strokes to dementia – the crisis is clear. We urgently need clean air. But for the rest of us, when we can’t visibly see the pollution, it’s easy to forget these headlines, and it’s easy to let these big numbers wash over us.

Despite COP28 Health Day, this critical issue falls through the ‘cracks’ of international negotiations. Most of the sources of both the climate crisis and air pollution are similar – emissions. Yet dirty air does not get the concerted international efforts it needs for the issue to be addressed.

This is why at COP28 we launched Our Common Air, a global commission to accelerate collective action for clean air. We believe progress is contingent on four important steps, all underpinned by one key fact – that clean air is key to human development and economic growth.

1. Make the economic case for clean air

Cleaner air improves economic outcomes: it reduces health system costs, vastly improves productivity and has a disproportionate impact on certain sectors. To be specific, the global cost of health damages associated with exposure to air pollution costs an estimated $8.1 trillion, according to a World Bank report.

Further, we will lose 3.8 billion working days annually to air pollution by 2060 if solutions are not found or known actions are not taken. Not surprisingly, the effects of air pollution are disproportionately felt by low- and middle-income countries.

A report by Dalberg Advisors, in partnership with the Clean Air Fund, Blue Sky Analytics, and the Confederation of Indian Industry, showed that air pollution costs Indian businesses $95 billion annually.

Improvements in air quality ensure fewer working days are lost due to sickness, and mitigate the cognitive impairments that otherwise lead to poor performance in schools. It also increases crop yields and, hence, food security. Other benefits include higher efficiency from solar power infrastructure and increase in tourism revenues.

2. Reform and scale finance available for cleaning the air

The evidence is clear — financing clean air is an investment in development. But the recent State of Global Air Quality Funding report finds that only 1% of international development funding and 2% of international public climate finance tackle outdoor air pollution.

The funding that exists is not evenly distributed. African countries received only 5% of the funding available, despite having five of the top 10 most polluted countries in the world per head of population; 86% of the funding went to just five Asian countries.

Development funding on outdoor air quality only surpassed that for fossil fuel prolonging funding in 2021. Image: Poojil Tiwari/CEEW

Moreover, most of that support (92%) came as loans in already debt-ridden countries. Developing economies especially need accessible, de-risked, concessional funding to mitigate pollution at its source, but few receive it. And never at the scale needed. Investing in clean air is investing in climate action — it reduces emissions and improves economic outcomes, for both businesses and people.

Five Asian countries received 86% of the total outdoor air quality funding between 2017 and 2021. Image: Poojil Tiwari/CEEW

3. Create a network of institutions to arrive at solutions

The Our Common Air initiative aims to create a network of institutions, especially in the Global South, to develop the capacity for locally relevant micro- and macroeconomic analysis of air pollution and context-specific ways to tackle it. It will be designed as a solutions network for the benefit of policy-makers, businesses, citizens and civil society.

4. Monitor progress in a standardized manner

Behind the headlines and big numbers on air pollution, there is a need to ensure regular tracking and review in a manner that is standardized and comparable across geographies. Timely actions need accountability and monitoring.

For instance, a study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) shows the importance of accurate forecasting of sources contributing to air pollution in New Delhi, so that responses are measured and timely. When policies rely on regular data collection, regulators and administrators can follow a science-driven plan to mitigate pollution rather than have to respond with patchwork reactions when smog descends across city skylines.

Clean air key to sustainable human development

Countries and negotiators finally understand the need to champion health at the same time as climate action, but the world needs a credible architecture to monitor responses, measure impacts, and accordingly design further solutions and additional resources to support geographies and jurisdictions seeking to combat air pollution.

In the face of soaring statistics and overlooked urgency, the reality of air pollution becomes strikingly personal. The crisis is undeniably present in every cough, especially in poorer communities.

It’s a stark reminder that clean air isn’t just a matter of well-being; it’s a linchpin for sustainable human development. The stakes are high, the toll is personal, the benefits are economy-wide and beyond borders — and the time to clear the air is now.

Dr Arunabha Ghosh is Founder-CEO of Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), and Ms Jane Burston is Founder and CEO of Clean Air Fund (CAF). They are co-convenors and Commissioners of Our Common Air, a global commission on air quality. They are also members of the Global Future Council on Clean Air. Views are personal.

Image: Unsplash/Chandan Chaurasia

By: Arunabha Ghosh (Chief Executive Officer, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW))
and Jane Burston (Chief Executive Officer, Clean Air Fund)
Originally published at: World Economic Forum

Total
0
Shares
Share
Tweet
Share
Share
Related Topics
  • Clean Air
  • Climate Change
  • Economy
majulah

Previous Article
Earth
  • People

Why Standards And Controls Are Essential To The Future Of Digital Financial Markets

  • January 31, 2024
View Post
Next Article
  • Cities
  • Politics

Israel-Palestinian Conflict: Is The Two-State Solution Now Dead?

  • February 7, 2024
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • Cities
  • Technology

Meralco PowerGen’s PacificLight starts up 100 MW fast-response plant in Singapore

  • dotlah.com
  • June 20, 2025
View Post
  • Technology

Apple services deliver powerful features and intelligent updates to users this autumn

  • Dean Marc
  • June 12, 2025
View Post
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Machine Learning
  • Technology

Apple supercharges its tools and technologies for developers to foster creativity, innovation, and design

  • Dean Marc
  • June 11, 2025
View Post
  • Technology
  • Working Life

It’s time to stop debating whether AI is genuinely intelligent and focus on making it work for society

  • dotlah.com
  • June 8, 2025
View Post
  • People
  • Politics

Singapore PM Wong arrives in Malacañang

  • dotlah.com
  • June 4, 2025
oracle-ibm
View Post
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Technology

IBM and Oracle Expand Partnership to Advance Agentic AI and Hybrid Cloud

  • Dean Marc
  • May 6, 2025
View Post
  • Featured
  • Features
  • People

Conclave: How A New Pope Is Chosen

  • Dean Marc
  • April 25, 2025
View Post
  • Software
  • Technology

Canonical Releases Ubuntu 25.04 Plucky Puffin

  • Dean Marc
  • April 17, 2025


Trending
  • 1
    • Technology
    Physically Apart, But Always TOGETHER – DBS Launches Employee Movement To Keep Morale high amid Covid-19
    • April 30, 2020
  • 2
    • Lah!
    Male Wolbachia-Aedes Mosquito Releases To Cover Entire Yishun And Tampines HDB Towns
    • July 21, 2020
  • Envision Digital and ST Engineering MOU Ceremony 3
    • Cities
    • Lah!
    • Technology
    Envision Digital And ST Engineering To Co-Develop Net Zero Carbon Digital Building Innovations, Contributing To Singapore Green Plan 2030
    • July 1, 2021
  • justco-sg-anchor-1200x627 4
    • Lah!
    • Society
    • Technology
    JustCo: Smart Tech-Enabled Workspaces Driving Collaboration For Hustlers In Town
    • February 5, 2021
  • 5
    • Technology
    Singapore Makes Coding Classes Mandatory For Primary School Students, Starting 2020
    • August 16, 2019
  • covid19 misinformation 6
    • People
    • World Events
    COVID Infodemic: What And Who To Believe
    • November 2, 2020
  • 7
    • Cities
    • People
    Major American Cities See Sharp Spike In Murders
    • August 11, 2020
  • 8
    • Lah!
    SIA Engineering Company Steps Up Measures To Mitigate Impact Of COVID-19
    • April 4, 2020
  • 9
    • Lah!
    Online Application For Exchange Of Singapore Bicentennial $20 Commemorative Note
    • September 17, 2019
  • 10
    • Lah!
    • Science
    • Technology
    Singapore Viewed As A Competitive Global Science And Technology R&D Hub In The Next Decade: SGInnovate Study
    • February 5, 2020
  • 11
    • Lah!
    DBS Launches Singapore’s First Green Car Loan
    • February 18, 2021
  • 12
    • Cities
    • Technology
    Where Are The World’s Unicorn Companies?
    • July 28, 2020
Trending
  • 1
    Meralco PowerGen’s PacificLight starts up 100 MW fast-response plant in Singapore
    • June 20, 2025
  • 2
    A Father’s Day Gift for Every Pop and Papa
    • June 14, 2025
  • 3
    Apple services deliver powerful features and intelligent updates to users this autumn
    • June 12, 2025
  • 4
    Apple supercharges its tools and technologies for developers to foster creativity, innovation, and design
    • June 11, 2025
  • 5
    It’s time to stop debating whether AI is genuinely intelligent and focus on making it work for society
    • June 8, 2025
  • 6
    PBBM asks Singapore to invest more in PH renewable energy projects
    • June 6, 2025
  • 7
    Singapore PM Wong arrives in Malacañang
    • June 4, 2025
  • 8
    Renewable energy, carbon credits are priority areas of cooperation for Singapore, Philippines: Lawrence Wong
    • June 4, 2025
  • 9
    Singapore businesses eye more investments in PH, says PM Wong
    • June 4, 2025
  • 10
    The Summer Adventures : Hiking and Nature Walks Essentials
    • June 3, 2025
Social Links
dotlah! dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
Connecting Dots Across Asia's Tech and Urban Landscape

Input your search keywords and press Enter.