Air pollution is defined as the contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere and which may be harmful to human health.

 


Air pollutants

Pollutants of greatest public health concern due to both short- and long-term exposure include:
- Particulate matter (PM): is a common proxy indicator for air pollution. There is clear evidence of the negative health impacts associated with exposure to this pollutant. The main components of PM are sulfates, nitrates, ammonia, sodium chloride, carbon black, mineral dust and water.
- Ozone (O3): at ground level - not to be confused with the ozone layer of the upper atmosphere - it is one of the major constituents of photochemical smog and is formed through the reaction with gases in the presence of sunlight.
- Nitrogen dioxide (NO2): is a gas commonly released by the combustion of fuels in the transport and industrial sectors.
- Sulfur dioxide (SO2): it is a colorless gas with a pungent odor and is the result of the combustion of fossil fuels (coal and oil) and the melting of minerals that contain sulphur.
- Carbon monoxide (CO): is a colourless, odorless and tasteless toxic gas produced by the incomplete combustion of carbonaceous fuels such as wood, petrol, coal, natural gas and kerosene.
The World Health Organization establishes global guidelines on air quality to offer global indications on thresholds and limits (AQG levels) for the main air pollutants that pose health risks. These levels constitute quantitative recommendations based on evidence and systematic review of evidence of adverse health effects (including an indication of the shape of the concentration-response function) for PM2.5, PM10, NO2, O3, SO2 and CO, for relevant average times and in relation to critical health outcomes.
In addition to the guideline values, the WHO provide interim targets to promote a gradual transition from high to lower concentrations and which serve to guide reduction efforts towards definitive achievement and timely AQG levels. Achieving interim targets can have a significant health benefit, especially in those regions where exposures far exceed interim targets.

 

Source: WHO global air quality guidelines. World Health Organization, 2021.

 

Numbers

Globally, WHO data shows that 99% of the world’s population is breathing polluted air that exceeds WHO quality guideline limits and contains high levels of pollutants, with low- and middle-income countries suffering from the highest exposures.
Taking some of the main pollutants as a reference, it is possible to observe that the comparison of the levels of PM2.5 and PM10 by income country group shows a greater exposure in low- and middle-income countries by a factor of approximately 3 compared to high-income countries. In terms of NO2 concentrations, the values in low- and middle-income countries are approximately 1.5 times higher than those in high-income countries.

Source: WHO Ambient air quality database, 2022 update. World Health Organization, 2023.


Sources of pollution

Air quality is influenced by everything related to human activity on earth. Industry, transport, agriculture and energy production release pollution into the atmosphere, along with domestic activities such as heating and cooking, and natural sources such as fires, volcanic activity and soil erosion.
In fact, air pollution develops in two contexts: indoor air pollution (domestic, for example due to residential energy for cooking and heating) and ambient air pollution (caused by transport, agriculture, waste incineration and industry).

 
Source: Air pollution: reclaiming the right to clean air. SG GLOBAL RESEARCH, 2020.
When talking about air pollution we need to distinguish between: direct emissions of pollutants from these sources and concentrations, i.e. the levels found in ambient air once the various emissions have been mixed and transported by atmospheric processes.
There is also a distinction between primary pollutants – emitted directly from different sources, and secondary pollutants – formed when primary pollutants undergo changes in the atmosphere.
 

Source: Cleaner air for Scotland: the road to a healthier future. Scotland Government, 2015.

Effects

From the smog hanging over cities to smoking inside homes, air pollution represents a serious threat to health and environment, and has important consequences in economic terms.

Health

According to World Health Organization statistics, approximately 7 million premature deaths occur every year due to the harmful health impacts of the combined effect of ambient and indoor air pollution.
Air pollution is a risk factor for many leading causes of death, including heart disease and stroke, airway obstructions and infections, lung cancer and diabetes.
In addition to direct effects, it is important to highlight that viruses can be more harmful in polluted air: several reports have highlighted higher mortality from COVID-19 in polluted cities, where human health is weaker and the virus' ability to survive is higher.



Source: European Environmental Agency, 2024.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), in the “Global Burden of Disease” study, provides estimates of the number of deaths attributed to a range of risk factors and shows that in 2019 air pollution was the second leading cause of deaths in the world, before tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, road accidents and communicable diseases such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.


Source: Global burden of disease. IHME, Our World in Data, 2019.

 

Furthermore, according to AQLI - University of Chicago data referring to 2021, air pollution causes a reduction in life expectancy of 2.3 years.

Source: AQLI, 2021.
 

Environment

Emissions of air pollutants do not only represent a health risk, but also constitute a serious environmental risk: air quality is closely linked to the climate and ecosystems at a global level.
Many of the factors that cause air pollution (for example the burning of fossil resources) are also sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Air pollutants aggravate climate change and contribute to global warming as they can cause reactions in the atmosphere in the presence of sunlight and lead to the formation of ozone in the upper atmosphere.
Air pollutants can also be transported thousands of kilometers around the world, producing their effects not only locally but also globally.
All this has disastrous consequences for the health of the ecosystem in all its life forms due to acid rain and eutrophication (a phenomenon that affects waterways and coasts and consists of the excessive increase in nutrients in the water, favoring the formation of plant organisms such as algae), just to mention two of its numerous effects.
Many cities suffer from poor air quality and the effects of air pollution, as documented by the World Air Quality Index, a non-profit project started in 2007 that provides unified, worldwide information on air quality to promote awareness of air pollution.

 

Source: World’s Air Pollution: Real Time Air Quality Index, Pollution Index AQI, 2024.

Source: Air pollution: reclaiming the right to clean air. SG GLOBAL RESEARCH, 2020.

 

Economy

Air pollution also has economic effects: according to OECD estimates, the effects of outdoor air pollution, which include impacts on labor productivity, health spending and agricultural harvests, could cause an economic cost at global level of $2.6 trillion per year by 2060, equivalent to 1% of global GDP.

Solutions

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), it is necessary to reduce CO2 emissions by half and drastically reduce other types of emissions within the next ten years, otherwise we will suffer the disastrous and irreversible consequences of climate change. To reach the goal of net zero emissions by 2050, as set out in the Paris Agreement, and stay within the 1.5° temperature limit, all sectors and industries must act now.
Since both greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutant emissions share the same origins, addressing air pollution would curb climate change and vice versa.
Most sources of outdoor air pollution are well outside the control of individuals and therefore requires concerted action by policy makers at local, national and regional levels working in sectors such as energy, transport, waste management, urban planning and agriculture.
Policies and investments aimed at reducing air pollution represent an advantageous strategy for both the climate and health, reducing the burden of diseases attributable to air pollution as well as contributing to the mitigation of short and long-term climate change.

These solutions, in terms of guidelines and new technologies, should support successful policies that reduce air pollution:
- for industry: with the development of clean technologies that reduce emissions from industrial chimneys; better management of urban and agricultural waste, including the capture of methane gas emitted by waste disposal sites and its subsequent use as biogas, as an alternative to incineration;
- for energy: promotion of the development of clean technologies and open and easy access to them at affordable prices at both domestic and industrial levels;
- for transport: transition to clean energy production methods; priority for urban rapid transport, pedestrian and cycling networks in cities as well as inter-city rail travel for goods and passengers; promotion of the switch to cleaner heavy-duty diesel vehicles and low-emission vehicles and fuels, including those with reduced sulphur;
- for urban planning: improvement of the energy efficiency of buildings and redesign of greener, more compact and therefore energy efficient cities;
- for energy production: greater use of low-emission fuels and non-combustion renewable energy sources (such as solar, wind or hydroelectric energy); cogeneration of heat and electricity; and distributed power generation (e.g. mini-grids and rooftop solar power generation);
- for municipal and agricultural waste management: encouragement to the development of strategies for waste reduction, waste separation, recycling and reuse or reprocessing of waste, as well as improved biological waste management methods such as anaerobic digestion of waste to produce biogas, as alternatives to open incineration of solid waste – and where incineration is unavoidable, development of combustion technologies with strict emission controls are essential;
- for health services: placing health services on a low-carbon development path to facilitate more resilient and cost-efficient service delivery, as well as reducing environmental health risks for patients, health workers and the community. By supporting climate-friendly policies, the health sector can demonstrate public leadership and at the same time improve the delivery of health services.

Business sectors that can contribute to improving air quality

The negative effects of environmental pollution are certainly transversal to all sectors of the economy: over the last few years every company has tried to direct its business model towards more environmentally responsible management, but often only CO2 and GHG emissions have been on the radar of companies while proactive management of emissions of other air pollutants is not yet a reality.
To implement policies and investments that lead to a clear change and a transition towards better air quality, the sectors most involved are those of Utilities, Specialty Chemicals, Containers & Packaging, Building Products, Construction & Engineering and Construction Materials.
Sources:
Air pollution. World Health Organization, 2024
AQLI Air Quality Life Index
Air pollution: reclaiming the right to clean air. SG GLOBAL RESEARCH, 2020
European Environmental Agency, 2024
Types of pollutants, World Health Organization, 2024
WHO Ambient air quality database, 2022 update. World Health Organization, 2023
WHO global air quality guidelines. World Health Organization, 2021
J.P. MORGAN 2024 Global ESG Outlook. J.P. MORGAN GLOABAL RESEARCH, 06 Dec 2023
Enhancing air quality in Northeast Asia. OECD, 2022
 

 

 

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