Air pollution is the root cause of many serious health problems. During the week of World Health Day, from April 7 – April 10, citizens around the world took to the streets to highlight the impact of air pollution on their health and on the planet.
Though they were unified in their call for #CleanAirNOW, citizens demanded localised solutions to the air pollution crisis, such as creating dedicated public bus lanes, upgrading national PM2.5 standards, and strengthening transboundary haze regulation.
” class=”wp-image-53427″/>Greenpeace India volunteers organised weekend cycling training at Cubbon park in Bangaluru, India for first-time women cyclists from low income groups.
” class=”wp-image-53428″/>Greenpeace MENA staff in Lebanon hold up letters that read “Clean Air Now” during the Global Week of Action for Clean Air and a Healthy Future for All.
Greenpeace Malaysia organised photo-ops involving hand drawn Malaysian figurines held up in front of iconic places in Malaysia to deliver the message that clean air is a basic human right.
Greenpeace Indonesia activists hold a photo opp for an air pollution campaign as they carry boards that read “CLEAN AIR NOW!” in a tunnel in Jakarta. The activists demand the government to take the air pollution problem in Indonesia seriously, especially in big cities like Jakarta.
More than 300 people joined the clean air ride with bikes to demand clean air in Ankara, İstanbul, Hatay, Mersin and İzmir.
They ditched the idea of car-dominated urban areas to create more space for bikes to combat air pollution.
Youth for Climate Tunisia in Tunisia organised a strike in the city of Tunis. Also present at the strike was Stop Pollution Gabes, a movement from the Gabes coastal community, who are campaigning against water, soil and air pollution in the city of Gabes.
Communities residing near coal power plants in Pangasinan, Quezon, Davao, and Cebu provinces, Philippines, including Metro Manila, demanded that the government raise the country’s air quality standards and end its reliance on coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel.
In Thailand, civil society organisation representatives and environmental advocates filed a lawsuit against three public departments, the National Environment Board, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Industry, for neglecting their mandate to protect citizens’ right to clean air.
In Bogota, Colombia, volunteers highlighted the dangerous levels of air pollution from vehicles and the health impacts from it. “We are inhaling poison” was the key message.
Greenpeace volunteers in Morocco organised a photo op to demand clean air and used this opportunity to have an iftar (breaking Ramadan fast) together and talk about the need for citizens to come together to fight air pollution.
Last year the World Health Organisation (WHO) strengthened its air quality guidelines for the first time in 15 years.
Unfortunately, the reality is that 97% of global cities failed to meet the guidelines last year, according to IQAir’s 2021 World Air Quality report. Moreover, many cities around the world suffer from a lack of available air quality data.
Science tells us that there is no safe level of air pollution exposure. Air pollution is responsible for many chronic diseases, including asthma, heart disease and stroke.
Our health cannot wait. It is time for governments around the world to take action. Clean energy and equitable mobility solutions, including public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure, are necessary to tackle both air pollution and the climate crisis.
Sign the petition: We must phase out climate-wrecking fossil fuels. Together, let’s demand innovative, sustainable solutions. Join the clean air movement, for our health, our future and for our planet.
Erin Newport is International Communications Officer for Greenpeace East Asia.
On the surface, it looked like progress: a new chapter for innovation in East Asia. But behind that moment was an environmental cost the world isn’t paying enough attention to.
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