Air pollution may cost Asia billions, experts say
Air pollution may cost Asia billions, experts say
Agencies, Singapore
Key Asian cities face serious problems with air pollution which
if left unresolved could cost the region billions of dollars
annually in health costs and lost economic output, experts said
on Monday.
Air quality in several Asian cities such as Jakarta and Manila
does not meet standards set by the World Health Organization
(WHO) and two-thirds of the 800,000 people who die globally from
air pollution every year are from the region, they said.
"People in Asia are dying prematurely and are suffering," said
Dr. Supat Wangwongwatana, Clean Air Initiative's (CAI) chairman.
"Clean fuel use is one of the major factors in reducing air
pollution."
He said the group's priorities were to reduce the amount of
lead in gasoline and limit sulfur use in diesel fuel.
"If we do not do anything at all, there will be people who die
prematurely from air pollution," said Wangwongwatana.
"Governments will have to spend a lot of money for the medical
care to cure the people who suffer from the illnesses caused by
air pollution," he told AFP on the sidelines of a meeting to
explore ways to combat the problem.
If nothing is done, the costs will run into "billions of
dollars."
The next step for CAI is to engage in a dialog with the
transport sector, the biggest source of air pollution in Asia, he
said.
The CAI, a project launched in 2001 by the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) and World Bank, is holding a one-day dialog meeting
here with key players from the oil industry who have agreed to
work with the Manila-based body to address the problem.
The oil companies in a statement expressed full support for
the CAI-initiated dialog to address air pollution.
"Air quality is impacted by emissions from a number of varied
sources but we recognize that the rapid growth in mobility in
Asia has contributed to an increase in emissions in many cities
and that the expected, continued growth in number of vehicles
will further add to the problem," the statement said.
Air pollution in Asia has got worse in recent years due to
increasing urbanization and a growing middle class which aspires
to own vehicles to match their new social status.
"There is still a very large unsatisfied demand among
households and individuals who would like to buy a motorcycle or
a car once they can afford it," the ADB said.