Page 41 - Frontier Technologies to Protect the Environment and Tackle Climate Change

Frontier Technologies to Protect the Environment and Tackle Climate Change

Figure 9: The WHO’s infographic on annual global deaths caused by air pollution [ix]

Furthermore, air pollution is not an isolated local problem. As transboundary sources are often
major contributors to urban pollution, many cities will be unable to meet WHO guideline levels for
air pollutants through local action alone. Even national and regional action may not be enough in
some cases. Transboundary cooperation such as that under the UNECE Convention on Long-range
Transboundary Air Pollution, is, therefore, key.
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To improve air quality, UNECE Member States must continue to work to reduce air pollution in the
region. The Convention has been extended by eight protocols that identify specific measures to be
taken by Parties to cut their emissions. The Convention provides access to emission measurement
and modelling data, and information on the effects of air pollution on ecosystems, health, crops
and materials. In doing so, it has substantially contributed to the development of international
environmental law and has created the essential framework for controlling and reducing the damage
to human health and the environment caused by transboundary air pollution. 111

As explained previously, carbon dioxide (CO ) contributes to the greenhouse effect by insulating more
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heat from the sun. Ozone (O ) is a major factor in asthma morbidity and mortality, while nitrogen
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dioxide (NO )and sulfur dioxide (SO ) play a role in asthma, bronchial symptoms, lung inflammation
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and reduced lung function. Sulfur dioxide also leads to acid rain. Methane gas also retains heat
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very well – it is 34 times as powerful a greenhouse-gas warming blanket as carbon dioxide over the
timescale of a century, and when judged on the timescale of two decades, it is actually 86 times as
powerful. Small particulate matter (PM ) is another pollutant that affects people by increasing
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mortality and morbidity (both daily and over decades). The WHO has estimated that emissions of
PM from idling car exhaust and other sources kill more than 3 million people annually worldwide.
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