Environmental activists have condemned air pollution on the African continent as a silent pandemic that will cost billions of dollars and claim millions of lives.
In their study of Accra, Lagos, Johannesburg and Cairo, the Clean Air Fund said countries could not keep turning a blind eye to the issue.
"Air pollution is estimated to cost a total of 115,7 billion dollars from 2023 to 2040 across Accra, Cairo, Johannesburg and Lagos under a business-as-usual scenario," said the report.
Like climate change, air pollution is mostly due to burning fossil fuels. The report points out that air pollution is massively overlooked by policy makers and funders.
It stresses that without urgent action on clean air, the financial cost of air pollution in Africa's cities is predicted to increase by more than 600 per cent by 2040. Studies show that Africa's cities are likely to house 65 per cent of its population by 2060
In 2019, according to the United Nations Environment Programme, air pollution caused 1.1 million deaths across Africa. HIV AIDS-related deaths in the same year amounted to more than 440,000 on the continent.
🛑 Just released: new @HEISoGA study finds that more than 1 mil deaths in Africa are linked to #AirPollution https://t.co/0iTpsRkjIt#TheTimeToActIsNow #SolvePollution pic.twitter.com/ohF7CtdetZ-- GAHP (@GAHP_Global) October 27, 2022
Urban exodus
In a combined context of climate change and economic depression, Africa's rural population continues to migrate further towards its cities which are ill-equipped to sustain such a fast expansion.
The African Development Bank wrote that urbanisation in Africa resulted in proliferation of slums, poverty and rising inequality.
However, policy makers and funders may offset the trend and drastically reduce the financial costs of air pollution by upgrading public transport, providing cleaner cooking stoves, greener industrial technology and energy.
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They could also make land clearance and waste management more environmentally-friendly.
📣 New research: Some cities in Africa will see the economic costs of #AirPollution increase 600% by 2040. But clean air measures could: 💰 free up billions of USD🏥 prevent thousands of deaths 🏭 reduce greenhouse gas emissions Read and share https://t.co/3tvMc91CNi #COP27 pic.twitter.com/f2hyiINnuk-- Clean Air Fund (@CleanAirFund) October 27, 2022
At the COP27 - between 6 and 18 November in Sharm El Sheikh - the Africa integrated assessment on air pollution and climate change will be released.
The study, compiled by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, will show how governments can reap agriculture, environmental and health benefits by linking actions towards clean air and climate change.
"By implementing clean air measures, such as upgrading public transport and cleaner cooking stoves, these four cities could raise 20.4 billion dollars between 2023 and 2040," says the report.
Should appropriate measures be implemented now, the benefits are expected to improve life expectancy and reduce lost working days due to the health effects of air pollution.
"Toxic air disproportionately affects the most vulnerable, so addressing it will reduce health inequalities," it adds
Applying clean air policies may reduce green-house emissions by 20 per cent between 2023 and 2040 and prevent more than 110,000 premature deaths in the four African cities.
