Poor air quality has implications for a wide range of human rights, including the rights to life, health, water, food, housing and an adequate standard of living. Air pollution also clearly violates the right to a healthy and sustainable environment.
Air pollution is a preventable problem. The solutions − laws, standards, policies, programmes, investments and technologies − are known. Implementing these solutions will of course entail large investments, but the benefits of fulfilling the right to breathe clean air for all of humanity are incalculable.
In “The Right to Breathe Clean Air” report to the General Assembly by David R. Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, offers a number of recommendations to States for actions they should consider as part of a national air quality action plan. The Special Rapporteur also urges businesses to fulfill their responsibility, to contribute to and support efforts to reduce air pollution.
The International Day of Clean Air for blue skies is designed by the United Nations General Assembly on 7 September to strengthen international cooperation in improving air quality and reducing air pollution. The designation was made through the Assembly resolution 74/212 and adopted on 19 December 2019.
The resolution was adopted without a vote, generally indicating all countries recognized the importance of the subject, were united on the issue, and no apparent divisions were present.
Air pollution is the biggest environmental health risk of our time. It also exacerbates climate change, causes economic losses, and reduces agricultural productivity. It knows no borders – everyone has a responsibility to protect our atmosphere and ensure healthy air for all. By collaborating across borders, sectors, and silos, we can reduce air pollution through collective investments of time, resources and efforts. This International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, we call upon everyone – from governments and corporations to civil society and individuals – to join the race for solutions. We’re Racing for Clean Air. By tackling air pollution proactively, we can achieve transformative change and secure healthy air for all.
Tiny, invisible particles of pollution penetrate deep into our lungs, bloodstream and bodies. These pollutants are responsible for about one-third of deaths from stroke, chronic respiratory disease, and lung cancer, as well as one quarter of deaths from heart attack. Ground-level ozone, produced from the interaction of many different pollutants in sunlight, is also a cause of asthma and chronic respiratory illnesses.
Climate impact short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) are among those pollutants most linked with both health effects and near-term warming of the planet. They persist in the atmosphere for as little as a few days or up to a few decades, so reducing them can have an almost immediate health and climate benefits for those living in places where levels fall.
Clean air is important for the health and day-to-day lives of people, while air pollution is the single greatest environmental risk to human health and one of the main avoidable causes of death and disease globally. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), air pollution is the world’s biggest environmental killer. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that air pollution is responsible for around seven million premature deaths each year through diseases such as lung cancer, acute respiratory infections and heart disease, and that 9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants. In addition, air pollution disproportionately affects women, children and older persons.
Air pollution doesn’t only affect human health, it also negatively impacts the climate, economic growth and our natural environment. Air pollution decreases the oxygen supply in our oceans, making it harder for plants to grow and as such, contributes to climate change. The good news is that air pollution is largely avoidable and its negative consequences are preventable. Solutions are known and can be implemented. The world needs to act now.
As such, air pollution is a global problem with far-reaching impacts owing to its transport over long distances. In the absence of aggressive intervention, the number of premature deaths resulting from ambient air pollution is estimated to be on track to increase by more than 50 per cent by 2050.
Society bears a high cost of air pollution due to the negative impacts on the economy, work productivity, healthcare costs and tourism, among others. Hence, the economic benefits of investing in air pollution control cannot be overestimated, and it must be understood that there is also an economic rationale to act and that cost-effective solutions exist to address air pollution.
Poor air quality is a challenge in the context of sustainable development for all countries, in particular in cities and urban areas in developing countries, with levels of air pollution that are higher than the limits set out in the World Health Organization air quality guidelines.
Some air pollutants, such as black carbon, methane and ground-level ozone, are also short-lived climate pollutants and are responsible for a significant portion of air pollution-related deaths, as well as impacts on crops and hence food security, so their reduction has co-benefits for the climate. In the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, entitled “The future we want” countries committed to promoting sustainable development policies that support healthy air quality in the context of sustainable cities and human settlements. Also, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which outlines a road map to achieving sustainable development, environmental protection and prosperity for all, recognizes that air pollution abatement is important to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
