Millions of Professionals Globally Clamor for Clean Air
HAVANA TIMES – Forty-seven million professionals, patients, and health advocates from all over the world have signed a petition to make air pollution a public health priority, indicated the closing speakers at the second Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health. The Conference was held in Cartagena, a historic city on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, from March 24 – 28.
“We call for bold action from governments, leaders and other decision-makers, donors and the private sector to clean the air for all,” reads the online petition.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebrevesus, Director-general of the World Health Organization, declared: “It is time to move from commitments to bold actions. To achieve clean air, we need urgent actions on all fronts: financial investment in sustainable solutions, such as in clean energy and sustainable transport; technical enforcement of WHO global air quality guidelines; and social commitment to protect the most vulnerable in our most polluted regions.”
Over 700 participants from 100 countries attended the Conference, including experts, scientists, and environmental activists. Both the millions who signed the petition and the direct Conference participants agreed that their shared goal is to reduce by 50% the health impacts of air pollution by the year 2040.
During the conference, the Global Call to Action was presented, asking governments and other bodies “to commit themselves without delay and within their respective functions, to guarantee the full application of robust measures to put the brakes on air pollution.”
The document calls for reducing pollutant emissions, accelerating the full implementation of the technical guidelines on air quality issued by WHO since 1987, and strengthening institutional capacity to limit air pollution and mitigate climate change. At the same time, it asks to “ensure a just and inclusive clean energy transition and fossil fuel phase-out that takes place in a fair and equitable manner.”
In order for these things to take place, the text calls on governments “to increase domestic and international funding to elevate clean air as a priority on global and national health and political agendas;” while “focusing on continuous awareness, training, research, and sharing best public health practices.”
Among the cases analyzed in the conference were those of the host country and the European Union. Colombian President Gustavo Petro affirmed that in his country: “Air pollution claims more victims than violence itself, even though – unfortunately – even today, Colombia has one of the highest homicide rates in the world.”
“The statistic I have is that for every 100,000 Colombians, 34 die of illnesses related to air pollution, the air those of us who live here breathe. Thirty-four is many more than the number of Colombian who are murdered,” Petro commented.
As host of the Conference, Colombia unveiled “a series of national efforts,” including cleaner fuels and electric vehicles for public transport, plus the objective of reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2030.
In Europe, where atmospheric contamination continues to cause 300,000 premature deaths a year, members of the European Parliament are advancing towards stricter regulation.
“Air pollution is an invisible pandemic, a slow-moving pandemic,” stressed Javier Lopez, Vice President of the European Parliament’s Environmental Commission.
Among other achievements of the Conference, countries such as Brazil, China Spain and the United Kingdom established road maps, while the Clean Air Fund promised 90 million additional dollars for climate and health programs.
The C40 cities, representing 97 of the world’s biggest cities, committed to strengthening air quality monitoring systems and promoting greater investment in clean air strategies.
According to the WHO, air pollution is responsible for seven million premature deaths a year and is already the second greatest risk factor for disease in the world, after hypertension.
Maria Neira, WHO Director of the Environment, Climate Change and Health, recognized: “today, air pollution is the primary risk factor for debilitating disease. The first risk factor for getting sick, and those illnesses are costing us dearly, in terms of the burden on our health care system and our hospitals.”
“The moment has passed to generate proof of air pollution. We have a great deal. No one can say they didn’t know,” Neira concluded.
First published in Spanish by IPS and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.