Ahead of the upcoming 2019 Climate Action Summit, the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and Climate and Clean Air Coalition announced today the “Clean Air Initiative”, calling on governments at all levels to join the Initiative. 

• The “Clean Air Initiative” calls on national and sub national governments to commit to achieving air quality that is safe for citizens, and to align climate change and air pollution policies by 2030. 
• According to WHO, each year, air pollution causes 7 million premature deaths, of which 600,000 are children.  
• According to the World Bank, air pollution costs the global economy an estimated US$5.11 trillion in welfare losses and in the 15 countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions, health impacts of air pollution are estimated to cost more than 4 per cent of GDP. 

• Meeting the Paris Agreement on climate change, however, could save over 1 million lives a year by 2050 and yield health benefits worth an estimated US$54.1 trillion – about twice the costs of mitigation – through reduced air pollution alone. 

Source: The Hindu