Air pollution is avoidable.

 

Since air pollution comes in many forms, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. But there are some simple, cost-effective things cities and countries can do to begin to address the problem. 

Those include:

 

• build robust air pollution monitoring systems to inform data-driven policies and early warning systems;
• leverage global data and reliable science to make decisions to protect human health; 
• share real-time air quality data with the public in an easy-to-understand way;
• limit emissions from known sources of pollution through laws and regulations;
• map out the economic benefits of addressing air pollution, which often far exceed the costs; and
• strengthen the institutions designed to address air pollution.

Businesses and individuals also have an important role to play in the campaign against air pollution, says UNEP’s Stone.


“We’re going to need everyone pulling together if we’re going to win the race to clean air,” he says.


A recent report from the World Bank found that integrated policies targeting the heating, cooking, transportation, agriculture and waste sectors could halve the number of people globally exposed to dangerously high levels of air pollution