Halving Deaths from Air Pollution is Central Aim of WHO Conference
Clean air light show and exhibits bedeck a heavily trafficked street outside of the Cartagena Convention Center hosting WHO’s Second Conference on Air Pollution and Health.

CARTAGENA, Colombia – A tour bus emits a cloud of black diesel smoke in front of Cartagena’s glittering white conference center. It is a vivid reminder that from the hottest tourist destinations to the slums of Latin America, Asia and Africa, nine out of ten people on the planet breathe dangerously unhealthy levels of air pollution every day. Thanks to air pollution, millions fall ill every year with a range of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases as well as cancers, leading to at least seven million deaths each year. 

On Tuesday, the Colombian coastal city will host the second WHO Air Pollution and Health conference 25-27 March, where global leaders are poised to call for an ambitious goal of cutting deaths from air pollution by 50% in 2040.

“Clean air is not a privilege; it is a human right,” says Dr Maria Neira who heads WHO’s work on climate, environment and health.

Indeed, air pollution is the biggest environmental risk to human health – risks that altogether account for some 25% of premature deaths every year –  as well as a major contributor to climate change, according not only to WHO, but also the world’s leading climate scientists

Solutions largely require political will

Delhi’s winter smog routinely reaches air quality ratings exceeding 50 times the level deemed safe by the WHO.

But unlike some other disease challenges, there are ready, affordable, solutions that largely require political will to implement. Neira has a ready list of WHO’s top priorities for the conference at her fingertips: 

“We need to work together urgently to scale up transitioning from coal-fired power to renewable energy,” she says, while also. “expanding public and sustainable transport, establishing low-emission zones in cities and promoting clean energy for cooking, and solar power in healthcare facilities.” 

Even so, cutting emissions enough to halve deaths from air pollution within just 15 years is a highly ambitious goal.The challenges to attainment are particularly daunting given not only the current trajectory of fossil fuel emissions – but also rollbacks to environmental and climate commitments by trend setters like the United States. 

Even so, the fact that WHO has been able to muster significant member state support for such a commitment represents a milestone in a battle to raise awareness about a health threat from fine particulates and other air pollution components that scientists first defined in the mid-1990s, and that WHO member states only formally embraced in a 2015 World Health Assembly Resolution.

And while ambitious, this year’s conference goal also provides a clear target for countries to aim for – after the WHO’s inaugural Conference on Air Pollution and Health failed to do so. 

“The science is as clear as our skies must be. We will take action to stop toxic air from polluting our health,” declared Neira in a statement to Health Policy Watch

Health community rallies around air pollution

As another reflection of growing awareness, nearly 50 million health professionals, patients, advocates, and individuals signed a call ahead of this week’s conference for urgent action to reduce air pollution. 

Signatories included more than 47 million health professionals, patients, representatives of civil society organizations, and individuals – from organizations such as the World Medical Association, NCD Alliance, and the World Heart Federation. 

“Forty-seven million people from the health community have issued a clarion call for urgent, bold, science-driven action on air pollution, and their voices must be heard,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, in a press statement ahead of the three-day conference event. 

“At the second WHO Conference on Air Pollution and Health in Cartagena, we hope to see concrete commitments from countries to implement those tools and save lives.”

Even so, Tedros himself will not be attending the three-day conference – a last minute cancellation perhaps reflective of the continuing budget and political woes faced by WHO in Geneva.

Among the more than 700 participants, however, are ministers of health, deputy ministers and other high level health officials from China, India, Colombia, Vietnam, and El-Salvador. A number of mayors from cities such as  London, Santiago, Quebec, as well as leaders in civil society, will be in attendance. 

Other UN-affiliated agencies, such as the World Bank, the World Meteorological Organization and the UN Environment Programme, as well as philanthropies such as Wellcome and the Clean Air Fund, are co-sponsoring as well as supporting sessions on topics ranging from finance to “super pollutants” – that warm the planet as well as polluting the air.  

Notably, no US government officials will be attending the conference – reflecting the Trump Administration’s recent decision to withdraw from WHO and as well as from multilateral global climate and environmental efforts where the US was previously a leader.

International cooperation fraught with uncertainty

The Cartagena conference comes at a time of tumultuous international relations and cuts to environmental and climate action. 

New US President Donald Trump, in particular, not only renounced the 2015 Paris Climate Accord but he has cancelled US participation and funding for clean energy development in Africa and beyond. At home, his administration has also issued a record number of orders rolling back domestic environmental regulations that limited toxic air pollution. (see related story)

https://healthpolicy-watch.news/epa-plans-to-roll-back-dozens-of-regulations-threatening-americas-health-environmental-health-experts-warn/

Historically, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) were global leaders in much of the air pollution space, participating on WHO, WMO and UNEP scientific panels. In this year’s conference, their voices will be strangely still. 

However, American academics from institutions such as Columbia University, the University of Colorado and University of California at Berkeley will still be in attendance, as will civil society groups such as the Environmental Defense Fund, Healthcare Without Harm, Client Earth and others. 

Despite the gaps, conference organizers hope the decades of research and expanding body of evidence around air pollution’s health impacts will spur individual countries to make strong national commitments to reducing air pollution – in line with the 50% by 2040 goal etched by WHO and its  “BreatheLife” awareness-raising campaign

Low- and middle income countries in Asia and Africa, struggling with a huge and still growing burden of air pollution-related diseases, can also be inspired by success stories on controlling air pollution in not only North America and Europe, but also in emerging economies of Latin America, and elsewhere. 

Countries that are unable to pledge to halve air pollution deaths within just 15 years will also be encouraged to make commitments to reducing pollution’s impacts more incrementally to at least meet one of WHO’s “interim air quality” goals, on the path to cleaner air.  

Air pollution quality table
The WHO’s air quality targets.

Countries also may pledge to act in specific sectors, such as the transport sector, through better monitoring and tighter regulatory oversight, or through new clean energy investments, for example. 

“While the challenge is immense, progress is possible. Many cities and countries have significantly improved air quality by enforcing stricter pollution limits,” said Neira. 

Expanding knowledge around health impacts

In the two days leading up to Thursday’s session on high level policy commitments, the conference will feature dozens of technical sessions on the latest science.

These will cover air pollution sources and their measurement – from household air pollution to wildfires and fracking; solutions for cities and polluting sectors such as transport and for reducing emissions from health sector facilities – and its environmental footprint more broadly. 

Notably, a widening array of health conditions have now been linked to air pollution exposure beyond the “traditional” diseases of respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases and cancers.

More recent research has shed light on a growing set of linkages between high air pollution levels and health at all stages of life – from adverse birth outcomes to dementia and mental health. 

“Besides years of living with laboured breath, punctuated by asthma attacks, or clouded by cataracts, mounting evidence links air pollution to various health outcomes like low birth weight, diabetes, cognitive impairment, and mental health impacts,” said Neira.

“The evidence is indisputable.” 

Health sector’s role

A key point of cross-cutting focus will be the health sector – how health policy officials and healthcare professionals – can play a meaningful role in an issue oft-perceived largely through an “environmental” lens. 

The conference also will:

  • Take stock of global progress since the start of the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
  • Showcase health, climate, gender and equity co-benefits of air pollution and energy action 
  • Harness climate and development finance to tackle air pollution and ensure a just energy transition.
  • Leverage health arguments to drive country cooperation and financial commitments.

Cultural hype to build awareness 

Cartagena 2025 conference air pollution
Air pollution simulators in “pollution pods” being set up prior to the conference.

Amid the technical panels and commitments, the conference will host a range of  interactive and cultural events open to the public on the broad esplanade that graces Cartagena’s seaside Conference Center.

Beginning on Wednesday, renowned Brazilian street artist Eduardo Kobra will develop and exhibit a large-scale mural dedicated to global environment and climate concerns on the esplanade. 

British British artist Michael Pinsky will invite public participants to an immersive air pollution experience in his “pollution pods” which will simulate different types of air pollution and sources for visitors to the dome shaped pods. 

Each pod will mimic a different type of pollutant, and its sensory discomforts, highlighting the urgency of addressing toxic air sources, Pinsky said.  

Conference participants as well as members of the public will also be able to test their lung and heart health through booths operated by the European Respiratory Society, World Heart Federation, and European Lung Foundation. 

On Monday, the eve of the conference, early bird arrivals can opt to join a six kilometer cycling tour of the city or a four kilometer run/walk – illustrating the importance of clean air to healthy, active lifestyles.

During the event, sponsored by the global non-profit Cityzens, participants will be equipped with personal sensors to get a sense of their own particulate matter exposure while exercising – beginning at 6 am before the city’s temperatures rise above 30°C. 

It’s hoped that the cultural and activities hype will bring the dangers of air pollution down to a more personal and motivational level, Neira said. 

Image Credits: E.Fletcher/Health Policy Watch, Fletcher/Health Policy Watch, Raunaq Chopra/ Climate Outreach, WHO, S. Samantaroy/HPW.

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