'Clean Air Initiative' launched to improve people's health

The “Clean Air Initiative” was announced by the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Climate Action Summit, Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba, in New Delhi, India on Tuesday.

This campaign calls on national and subnational governments to commit to achieving air quality that is safe for citizens, and to align climate change and air pollution policies by 2030.

The call to improve air quality is part of a wider movement to harness social and political drivers to improve people's health, reduce inequities, promote social justice and maximize opportunities of decent work for all, while protecting the climate for future generations.

It's co-launched by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and Climate and Clean Air Coalition, ahead of the upcoming 2019 Climate Action Summit, the United Nations.

According to WHO, each year, air pollution causes 7 million premature deaths, of which 600,000 are children. According to the World Bank, air pollution costs the global economy an estimated US$5.11 trillion in welfare losses; and in the 15 countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions, health impacts of air pollution are estimated to cost more than 4 percent of GDP.

Meeting the Paris Agreement on climate change, however, could save over 1 million lives a year by 2050 and yield health benefits worth an estimated US$54.1 trillion– about twice the costs of mitigation – through reduced air pollution alone.

“The climate crisis and the air pollution crisis are driven by the same factors and must be tackled by joint actions. We call on governments at all levels to step up to this challenge and bring powerful commitments and concrete plans to the upcoming Climate Action Summit,” said Ambassador de Alba.

When answering question from China.org.cn, Ambassador de Alba said that we need China and all those members along with China to do more.

“I believe that China will be along with progressive leaders to fight against climate change. With the participation and leadership of China, we will achieve our goals,” he added.