September 2 (IPS) – Felix Horne is a senior environmental researcher at Human Rights WatchTarik, 42, lives in a village adjacent to a decades-old coal power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the day we visited, Bosnia’s cities were among the most polluted on Earth. When describing the health damage that air pollution does every year on the village’s elderly residents, he voiced fear for his elderly parents, who have lived there for more than 40 years. Year: “The elders in this village are desperate. They endured this atmosphere for many months. They don’t go out, they don’t socialize, they can’t buy groceries or medicine. It was a terrible existence.”
Human Rights Watch recently Be recorded The terrible effects of air pollution in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the winter months. People who live near some of the country’s five obsolete coal-fired power plants tell Human Rights Watch about friends, family and neighbors who have died of cancer or cardiovascular or respiratory diseases. which they believe is due to pollution from nearby coal plants. . For them, the risk of air pollution is very real. The country with the world fifth highest death rate from air pollution.
Reliance on wood and coal for heat, coal for power generation in outdated power plants, poorly insulated buildings, outdated fleets of vehicles, and natural elements all contribute to a deadly atmosphere for humans. country. Bosnia’s multi-level government has not done enough to address the causes of toxic air. They have failed to minimize the risk that deadly air poses to human health or even adequately warn the public about the dangers.
Air pollution affects us all, but in different ways. People with certain health conditions, pregnant women, children and the elderly are most susceptible. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, parents told us about their difficulties caring for children with asthma and bronchitis during the winter and how their children cannot safely step outside without being sick. acute respiratory symptoms.
The International Day of Clean Air for Blue Sky takes place on 7 September. This is an opportunity to recognize the magnitude of the problem and redouble efforts to tackle it.
Air pollution is a global problem. The World Health Organization calls air pollution a “simple”. greatest environmental threat to human health and it is estimated that 99 percent of the world’s population live in places above WHO thresholds designed to protect human health. Ambient (or outdoor) air pollution is mainly caused by fossil fuel burning, forest fires, waste burning, other industrial activities, and natural factors.
Estimate seven million people die every year from indoor and outdoor air pollution. That’s more than deaths from Covid-19 in the past two years. Normally, air pollution receives less attention than other public health emergencies, but the threats to health are real. In fact, 94% of deaths from air pollution are due to non-communicable diseases – especially cardiovascular disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. And nine out of ten of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
Under international human rights law, states have a responsibility to tackle air pollution, which has a serious impact on a range of human rights, including the right to life and health. Governments are required not only to take steps to limit air pollution by addressing its causes, but also to protect people during the worst air pollution events. This includes adequate monitoring of air quality, enforcement of stringent air quality standards, and assessment, communication and mitigation of risks to human health when pollution levels are high.
Air pollution and climate change are directly linked. Burning fossil fuels, which account for about 80% of the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, is a major cause of outdoor air pollution. Switching from fossil fuels to clean energy, including wind and solar, is an important means of tackling air pollution and emissions that cause climate change. It can save millions of lives every year, even in places like Tarik’s village. What are we waiting for?
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