Addressing air pollution to tackle public health and climate change
Media advisory for 7 September 2020 - Webinar and new policy brief
Stockholm Environment Institute provides policy advice and measures for addressing air pollution, health and climate change mitigation on the first UN International Day of Clean Air for blue skies.
As the world looks at how to recover from COVID-19, there is a unique opportunity to ‘build back better’ by addressing air pollution, alongside climate, health and development priorities. How can the world build back the economy in the most resilient way?
A webinar on 7 September explores integrated strategies that achieve clean air, benefit human health, contribute to addressing climate change and make progress towards multiple Sustainable Development Goals. A new policy brief ‘Air pollution and its impact on human health: an important driver for achieving the 1.5°C goal of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’, will be launched at the webinar.
Air pollution is the world’s largest environmental health risk, contributing to 7 million premature deaths per year, according to the World Health Organization. The health impact of air pollution most heavily affects urban and low-income communities.
Stockholm Environment Institute research has highlighted the main impacts of air pollution on health, showing that small particulate matter can be related to millions of asthma-related visits to hospital each year globally, and over two million pre-term births, which can have life-long health implications for survivors.
To reduce the health impacts from air pollution, SEI’s Low Emissions Analysis Platform and Integrated Benefits Calculator (LEAP-IBC) can help plan coherent emission reduction strategies with health benefits.
New policy brief on air pollution and human health impacts
The SEI policy brief states that “Immediate coordinated action on reducing short-lived climate pollutants can prevent over 0.5°C of warming by 2050, but can also reduce the health impacts from air pollution, including exposure to small particulate matter and ground-level ozone”.
Dr Johan C.I. Kuylenstierna, Air Pollution Research Leader, Stockholm Environment Institute, said: “If chosen carefully, measures to address air pollution can also reduce greenhouse gases, which addresses climate change. If this opportunity is to be realized, then countries and cities need to know which air pollution policies can provide both health and climate change reduction benefits. The SEI tool helps with this.”
Webinar: Why we must address air pollution to tackle health and climate
The webinar on 7 September is part of the United Nation’s International Day of Clean Air for blue skies. The webinar will host an expert panel to explore the links between air pollution, health, COVID-19 recovery and climate change mitigation, and discuss holistic solutions to address these issues.
The event will be chaired by Dr Johan C.I. Kuylenstierna, Air Pollution Research Leader, Stockholm Environment Institute.
Online webinar: Building back better: why we must address air pollution to tackle public health and climate change
Date: 7 September 2020
Time: 15:00 – 16:30 BST
Registration: Journalists are welcome to sign up to the webinar
Speakers include:
Geraint Davies MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Air Pollution, UK Parliament
Professor Sir Andy Haines, Professor of Environmental Change and Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Helena Molin Valdés, Head of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition Secretariat
Dr Eleni Iacovidou, Lecturer in Environmental Management, Brunel University London
Dr Chris Malley, Senior Research Fellow, Stockholm Environment Institute, University of York
Dr Luis Gerardo Ruiz Suárez, General Coordinator of Pollution and Environmental Health, National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC)
Dr Yewande Awe, Senior Environmental Engineer, World Bank
Dr Sarah West, Centre Director, Stockholm Environment Institute, University of York
Closing remarks
Dr Patrick Büker, Air Pollution Advisor, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
Further information
The SEI policy brief ‘Air pollution and its impact on human health: an important driver for achieving the 1.5°C goal of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’ will be published on 7 September 12:00 BST.
The brief is written by Johan C. I. Kuylenstierna and Chris Malley, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) at the University of York, and Patrick Büker and Tangmar Marmon, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The authors are available for interviews upon request.
For interviews, please contact:
Ylva Rylander, Press Officer, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
+46 73 150 33 84 ylva.rylander@sei.org @YlvaSEI
Frances Dixon, Communications Officer, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), University of York
+44 7859 147 820 frances.dixon@sei.org @fdixonSEI
Twitter: #CleanAirForAll #WorldCleanAirDay
About the organizers
The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) is a key partner of the UN International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, led by the United Nations Environment Programme. Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York, UK, is leading on SEI activities for the day. The event and policy brief is funded by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
