19 February 2015: A report examining the World Bank’s activities in relation to air quality management and environmental health recommends a more systematic focus for enhanced impact. Drawing lessons from successful projects to date, the report calls for: better data and systematic monitoring of changes in air quality over time; an active dialogue with all stakeholders; integrated approaches; cross-sectoral involvement; and a combination of technical, policy and economic measures.
The report, titled ‘Clean Air and Healthy Lungs: Enhancing the World Bank’s Approach to Air Quality Management,’ reviews the problems of air pollution and related health impacts in developing countries, examines the types of project activities the Bank has supported that address this issue and assesses the projects’ success, and highlights good practices and recommends ways to enhance work in this area.
The report is part of the Bank’s effort to enhance air quality management in developing countries through a more systematic approach to the issue in its lending and technical assistance, and supports the establishment of a new Pollution Management and Environmental Health programme at the Bank.
According to the World Bank, in 2012, approximately 3.7 million people died from air pollution-related diseases. While the majority of the world’s 50 most polluted cities, in terms of ambient air pollution concentration, are located in Asia, major cities in Africa and Latin America also suffer from worrying air pollution levels.
Stressing the need for a proactive approach to avoid preventable deaths in Africa where the urban population is expected to triple by 2050, Yewande Awe, World Bank Senior Environmental Engineer and lead author of the report, called for acting “now rather than responding to this crisis over time or when polluting patterns are locked into place.” Paula Caballero, Senior Director of the Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice of the Bank, suggested clean air and the economic benefits of urbanization can be achieved simultaneously “when proactive leaders are willing to institute the right policies and investments.”
The World Bank participates in related advocacy and knowledge sharing initiatives, including the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution and the Climate (GAHP), and the Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC). It has also commissioned a review that estimated the strengths and limitations of its methodology for the valuation of pollution-related health risks, which was published in September 2014 by Resources for the Future (RFF). [World Bank Press Release] [Publication Webpage] [Publication: Clean Air and Healthy Lungs] [RFF Publication on World Bank Air Pollution Methodology]