Clean air can change the lives of 1 billion people in South Asia: World Bank

Clean air can change the lives of 1 billion people in South Asia: World Bank.

Air pollution in South Asia’s vast urban areas, especially in the Indo-Gangetic Plains and Himalayan Foothills (IGP-HF), poses a serious threat to public health and productivity. This severe pollution is now one of the major development challenges in South Asia. This concern has been expressed in the recently released World Bank report titled ‘Breath of Change: Solutions for Cleaner Air in the Indo-Gangetic Plains and Himalayan Foothills’.

The report says that about 1 billion people in this region are currently breathing unbearably polluted air. As a result, about 1 million people lose their lives prematurely every year. In addition, the economic loss due to pollution is about 10 percent of the region’s annual gross domestic product (GDP).

The report states that there are five main sources of air pollution in the region comprising Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan. These are: the use of wood or coal for cooking, unfiltered industries, old-engine vehicles, crop stubble burning and unplanned waste management.

To address this crisis, the World Bank has divided the solutions to clean air into three complementary areas:

First, initiatives must be taken to reduce emissions at the source, where pollution is created, in cooking, industry, transport, agriculture and waste management.

Second, health and education systems must be further strengthened to protect children and vulnerable populations during this transitional period of improving air quality.

Third, to sustain this progress in the long term, strong institutions, robust regulatory frameworks, market-based incentives and coordination between regional countries must be built.

The World Bank says that the solution is within our reach. With a few coordinated and effective actions, this pollution can be reduced dramatically. These include cooking on electric stoves, the use of modern technology in factories, electric vehicles and proper recycling of waste.

The report has given special emphasis on the ‘Four I’ or four issues to address this crisis. They are – information (information), incentives for investment and behavior change (incentives), strong institutions at the national and local levels (institutions) and environmentally friendly infrastructure (infrastructure).

Martin Hager, Senior Environmental Economist at the World Bank, said that this report provides a realistic roadmap for policymakers. There is a strong economic case for using clean technologies for entrepreneurs, farmers and ordinary households in South Asia. Therefore, governments should fully support them.

Anne Janet Glauber, Environment Practice Manager at the World Bank, said that to achieve pollution-free air, regional cooperation is needed as well as local and national levels. Working together, it will be possible to save millions of lives and ensure clean air for all.