The air we breathe is of crucial importance for our physical and mental health. Although the connection has also been sufficiently proven scientifically, the air quality for many people in large parts of the world is still worryingly poor. International cooperation could change this.
Poor air quality not only affects emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil or Nigeria, but also in countries of the Global North, especially in cities and urban centres, emissions from traffic, industry and households cause regular exceedances of pollution ceilings set, among others, by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Air pollution
While the world has already agreed on a systematic reduction of greenhouse gases in the Paris Climate Agreement, international cooperation on the coordinated reduction of “local” pollutants continues to lag far behind. This inability takes on a new significance when one realises that air pollution by pollutants such as carbon monoxide, particulate matter or ozone, in contrast to emissions that affect the climate, has a direct and immediate impact on human performance.
Diseases caused by poor air quality
Air pollution can have a variety of effects on health: Respiratory diseases such as asthma and bronchitis can occur, as can cardiovascular diseases, which include heart attacks and strokes. What may be less well known is that cancer and disorders of the nervous system can also be triggered by elevated levels of pollutants.
Bad decisions due to smog
Furthermore, human cognitive abilities and thus productivity are directly related to the air we breathe. For example, it has been shown that brokers on Chinese stock exchanges make significantly more bad financial decisions on days with increased smog than on less polluted days.
Impact on the economy
The impact of air pollution on human well-being, performance and physical health (especially of children, the elderly and those already ill) is therefore also directly related to a country’s economic performance, as a systematically weakened population is less able to contribute to economic growth.
No international coordination
Since air pollution is a global problem, increased international cooperation is needed to address it effectively. Currently, however, most countries are taking preventive measures to deal with polluted air on their own. The fact that many pollutants can travel distances of up to several thousand kilometres and that the construction of “dirty” industries at national borders is common practice is largely being ignored.
Short-term, regional measures
Often cities, regions or even states resort to short-term measures to deal with the effects of low air quality. Private individuals try to protect themselves as best they can by wearing breathing masks or indoor air filters; on the other hand, governments sometimes impose short-term restrictions, including driving bans or day-long restrictions on emissionheavy industries. However, all these measures are temporary, often for cost reasons, and limited to a radius that is usually small and affects relatively few people globally.
Long-term measures
Long-term options for improving air quality exist but are applied to a reasonable extent in comparatively few countries. The promotion of environmentally friendly mobility, which includes the expansion of public transport, the use of bicycles or the creation of pedestrian-friendly routes, can, among other things, help to reduce the flow of traffic on the roads and thus reduce emissions.
Furthermore, environmentally friendly urban infrastructure, i.e. green spaces and parks in urban areas, can filter pollutants from the air and thus also improve air quality.
Strict environmental standards
A more rigid approach to this problem is sometimes also taken through the introduction of strict(er) environmental standards and the targeted monitoring of these. Compliance with and implementation of all such measures are difficult to achieve, especially for financially weak countries, which is why strong international cooperation is also specifically required here. In order to achieve a long-term and sustainable improvement in air quality, extensive intergovernmental cooperation and the development and implementation of new technologies are therefore a must.
Initiatives in the EU and Asia
International cooperation can promote solutions that not only improve air quality (and thus people’s well-being) but also advance economic development. However, there are only a few examples of such cooperation. For example, the EU Air Quality Directive and the Clean Air Asia Initiative are currently the only two multilateral structures that exist on a noteworthy scale. The EU Air Quality Directive sets stricter standards for air quality in Europe, regulates monitoring and compliance with these standards and serves as a model for other countries and regions. In Asia, one of the regions most affected by air pollution in the world, the Clean Air Asia Initiative aims to improve air quality through joint action in the transport, industry and energy sectors.
Environmental problems and economic growth
Global goals and cooperation must also be developed and implemented with regard to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Without clean air, neither health and prosperity nor sustainable living in cities and towns are possible. To trigger this more intensive cooperation, it must be understood that air pollution has a significant feedback effect on a country’s economic development. But there is still the widespread idea that a country can overcome growthrelated environmental problems through even more economic growth. This concept, long since disproved by the United Nations in 1992, still persists today – as can be seen in many development policy decisions
Text Tom Zeising