From the incessant greenhouse gases emitted by motor vehicles and fossil fuel-powered industrial and domestic facilities to smoke from wildfires, these pollutants collectively contaminate air in indoor and outdoor environments. Air pollution is a major global challenge, a blight that is undoubtedly an existential threat to humanity – data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) show that a whopping 99 percent of the world’s entire population are exposed to air pollution levels which put them at increased risk for several diseases: including cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, pneumonia and stroke.
What’s more, with 2.4 billion people currently relying primarily on dirty fuels – charcoal, coal, animal dung, grass and wood for cooking, together with 91 percent of the world’s total population domiciled in places where air pollution levels exceed WHO guideline limits, a deplorable condition (ambient and household air pollution) that accounts for 7 million premature deaths per year – sadly, this appalling condition could be exacerbated in the years ahead: with burgeoning urbanisation worldwide and an increasing global population, it is not rocket science that the worst is yet to come; particularly if this execrable condition does not improve considerably in the shortest possible time.
Unfortunately, air pollution – a pressing global challenge that requires all hands on deck to tackle it – has not received the needed attention worldwide; for years, development funds earmarked for projects designed to directly or indirectly address this formidable nodus have been relatively exiguous.
Surprisingly, not much has changed in recent years, as development financing designated to mitigate air pollution is far less than funds apportioned to other development projects – quite recently, the State of Global Air Quality Funding 2021 revealed that between 2015 and 2020, only 0.7 percent of the total development finance reported by official development funders was spent on air pollution-related projects.
While this figure is extremely small, there is a bright side to it; total development funding for air quality from 2015-2020 increased significantly, with a marked upturn in 2018-2020. However, this growth is misleading. In fact, this progress is not evenly distributed worldwide – it is rather highly skewed, largely underpinned by new development funding for air quality-related projects in a few countries, spearheaded by China.
In Asia, which was the destination for more than 80 percent of the world’s total development funding for air quality-related projects from 2015 to 2020, China accounts for by far the largest share of these funds in the region – colossal green financing and investments for air quality which have yielded outstanding outcomes; a sharp contrast to the experience in aid-recipient countries where the funding gap for air quality is widening and annual deaths attributed to air pollution is over 4 million, which accounts for 90 percent of all deaths attributable to outdoor air pollution – representing a 153 percent increase between 1990 and 2019.
Conversely, China’s increasing advocacy for green financing, scaling up innovative financing and investments for air quality-related projects, has not only been successful in reducing air pollution considerably but also saved lives. Between 2015 and 2020, the country recorded a 9.5 percent decline in age-standardised deaths per 100,000 attributable to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) – a remarkable feat that could not have been realised if China had failed to reduce air pollution drastically.
According to the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute, between 2013 and 2020 the quantity of fine particulate matter in the air of China dropped by 40 percent – a life-saving accomplishment that will add 2 years to average life expectancy if sustained. To put this into perspective, China’s 40 percent drop in particulate matter within 7 years is nearly equal to the 44 percent decline of air pollution in the United States that was achieved over 30 years from 1970… after the Clean Air Act was passed.
Surely, China’s enormous gains in the fight against air pollution has reduced global air pollution significantly; but the hard truth is that this effort will not suffice – it will take consistent and increased concerted innovative financing in all countries around the globe to address global air pollution, particularly for countries in Africa and Latin America; two regions known to receive the least development funding for air quality, although air pollution is increasing rapidly in countries across these areas.
Admittedly, this task may be daunting – but recent global trends have shown that it is possible to turn things around within a short duration. While China has demonstrated that strengthening innovative financing, thus expanding the toolkit for financial solutions, is central to mitigating air pollution, lockdowns enforced in most countries worldwide to control spread of the COVID-19 pandemic also provided vital lessons – they reduced global air pollution significantly within a few months.
According to a report (2021) from the United Nations, fossil-fuel emissions which accounted for 85 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions between 2010 and 2019 declined by 5.6 percent in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; the largest annual decline ever recorded in absolute values (1.9 GtCO2). The transport sector, mainly road transport, contributed most to the drop; a major sector that is worth examining extensively.
Recent data show that while the transport sector accounts for one-fifth of global carbon dioxide emissions, road travel alone contributes three-quarters of the total. The largest share representing 45 percent comes from passenger vehicles, suggesting that decarbonising the transport sector, especially road transport, is key to mitigating global air pollution.
However, this onerous task will require massive funding to undertake effective electric mobility transition, renewable energy research and development, and bringing on board innovative small and medium-sized enterprises to strengthen the clean energy transition – a demand the traditional financing, especially for those in Low Income Countries, is struggling to meet. This revelation should be a wake-up call to development funders and relevant stakeholders – global air pollution can be reduced considerably and effectively if innovative financing for air quality-related projects is prioritised around the globe.
About the Author
Alexander is an economic consultant, chartered economist and chartered financial analyst with a keen interest in the economic landscape of countries in Asia and Africa
