Nordic Environment Ministers offer strong support for UN work on clean air
In half of the UNECE countries the total health costs due to air pollution are more than 10% of GDP according to the WHO. The total economic costs due to premature deaths in the UNECE region are estimated by the WHO to be around 1 trillion Euros in 2015. The costs of illness due to air pollution add 10% to this amount.
A substantial part of the harmful substances are transported over national borders, so international co-operation is crucial to achieve results. Despite a decline in emission levels, long term risks for human health and the environment continue to exist in large parts of the UNECE region.
Bad air quality remains the number one environmental cause of premature mortality globally, overtaking poor water quality and lack of sanitation.
In recognition of that and initiated by Sweden, the Nordic Ministers for the Environment have adopted a statement in support for the Batumi Action for Cleaner Air, which will be launched at the Environment for Europe UNECE conference on June 9.
- Bad air quality remains the number one environmental cause of premature mortality globally, overtaking poor water quality and lack of sanitation. Air pollution is a risk factor for heart disease, stroke, chronic pulmonary disease, asthma and cancer. Air pollutants also cause significant damage to ecosystems, agricultural crops, materials and cultural heritage. So we must step up our action and we need to act together, says Kimmo Tiilikainen, Minister of Agriculture and the Environment on behalf of the Finnish chairmanship of the Nordic Council of Ministers
A new assessment report from the UNECE Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution was published in Brussels May 31 at an even co-sponsored by the Nordic Council of Ministers.
The Convention provides a platform for mutual learning and finding solutions to common problems. Ratification and implementation of the Conventions’ protocols offers a possibility to reduce health and environmental impacts in a more cost-effective way than with unilateral action only, the Nordic Environment Ministers underline in their statement.
