Introduction by Croakey: The burning of fossil fuels is driving air pollution, which is estimated to kill an estimated seven million people each year globally, according to experts attending the WHO Second Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health.
The conference, which is being held in Colombia this week, aims to showcase the health, climate, gender and equity co-benefits of efforts to reduce air pollution, and to mobilise and empower health professionals to “prescribe” clean air for health.
Participants include government ministers with responsibility for health, the environment and energy, health professionals, local authorities, representatives of critical sectors such as energy, transport, industry, waste and land-use, and delegates from research, academia and civil society.
The conference opened with a series of emotional testimonials on the harmful effects of air pollution, from toxic methane flares in the Amazonian rainforest to the death of a 13-year-old girl from London smog, Health Policy Watch reports.
Sessions are also covering the impacts of air pollution on agriculture, and opportunities for the health sector to reduce emissions through shifting to renewable energy and climate resilient health facility design.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Safe Air – a NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence led by Professor Fay Johnston at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania – has issued an open letter to federal election candidates calling for a National Clean Air Strategy.
The letter comes amid reports that the federal election may be called as early as tomorrow (28 March).
Australia needs a National Clean Air Strategy
Open letter to federal election candidates
All Australians should be able to breathe clean, safe air. But right now the health impacts of air pollution are increasing.
Australians are exposed to more smoke from larger bushfires, more pollen from extended pollen seasons, and more biological hazards from worsening flood events and heavier rain.
Our homes and public buildings are not designed to protect against mould proliferation, the spread of airborne infections, indoor pollutants like combustion emissions, or the infiltration of outdoor pollutants. These challenges come at significant cost to our health and wellbeing.
Currently, outdoor air pollution is linked to approximately 3,200 premature deaths every year, costing Australia more than $6.2 billion annually.
In 2001, indoor air pollution in Australia was estimated to cost $12 billion per year, a figure that has only grown with new airborne respiratory viruses such as COVID-19.
Air hazards impact every organ system in the body, increasing rates of cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases, diabetes, obesity, and reproductive, neurological, and immune system disorders.
Much of this impact is avoidable and even small improvements in air quality have substantial health benefits.
Clean air is too important for government responsibility to remain fragmented across health and environment agencies and across different levels of government.
Australia needs national leadership and investment to ensure effective and coordinated action is taken to secure cleaner air for all communities.
While Australia already invests in comprehensive strategies for food and water safety, there is a notable lack of investment in air quality – the most critical environmental determinant of health.
Yet the cost-effectiveness of such an investment is clear.
Investing in cleaner air provides a large return on investment for all Australians by:
- Improving health outcomes related to many chronic illnesses such as asthma, COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia and cancer
- Improved productivity by reducing the spread of respiratory infections, airborne disease and epidemics such as COVID-19
- Supporting healthy child development and enabling us to stay healthier longer
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to secure long-term protection of Australia’s health, economy, and security from worsening climate change impacts.
Air quality affects every Australian.
Now is the time for leadership to secure access to safe, clean air – just as we do for other necessities of life like food and water.
We urge the next Australian Government to commit to a National Clean Air Strategy with dedicated resources for leadership and implementation, to tackle the health and wellbeing impacts of air pollution.
• The Open Letter has been signed by 14 national peak bodies, research and advocacy organisations including the Heart Foundation, Asthma Australia, The Lung Foundation, The Burnet Institute, Doctors for the Environment, and the Climate and Health Alliance.
The full list of signatories is available here.
Leadership needed
In a related statement, Professor Fay Johnston, who led the Open Letter and is Director of the Centre for Safe Air, said Australians would be surprised to learn that there is no coordinated national framework for air safety.
Climate change presents a range of new air quality challenges requiring a national response, said Distinguished Professor Yuming Guo, Head of the Climate, Air Quality Research (CARE) Unit at Monash University.
“Investing in cleaner air by reducing greenhouse gas emissions benefits Australia’s long-term health, economy, and security against worsening climate change impacts,” he said.
Dr Bronwyn King AO, Special Advisor for Clean Air at the Burnet Institute, noted that national leadership is urgently needed to secure safer air in the indoor environments where we spend most of our time.
“Schools, workplaces, hospitals, transport, and aged care facilities should have robust indoor air quality standards, but this is not the case,” she said.
“We must address this gap in our public health framework to protect Australians from repeated exposure to harmful airborne diseases and pollutants that damage health,” she said.
Federal Election candidates and parties are urged to endorse the Open Letter by adding their name through the website at www.safeair.org.au/open-letter
• Signatories to the open letter represent the following organisations:
• Croakey readers can sign the open letter: https://safeair.org.au/open-letter
See Croakey’s archive of articles on air pollution and health
