144
What is the best data strategy for generating political will and getting policymakers to recognize the importance of air pollution control and hence invest in improved governance systems (policies, laws, regulations and institutions)?
We now know more than ever about air pollution, its sources and impacts. There are still gaps, but the combination of expanding traditional monitoring and analysis along with leveraging new combinations of data from low cost sensors, satellites, and digital traces of economic activity among other sources is delivering more information than ever. What will […]
76
What are the most cost-effective and equitable interventions to improve air quality in a given region (from local to global scales), particularly for the pollution sources affecting low and middle income countries?
Air pollution sources vary over place and time. Coal burning and combustion engines contribute; as does burning agriculture and municipal waste or using biomass for household energy. Agricultural and industrial emissions dominate in other places. Some pollutants come from combinations of emissions from different sectors – ammonia from fertilizer use in agriculture, for example, can […]
59
How are new technologies such as (but not limited to) low-cost sensors affecting public awareness of – and behaviors on – air pollution?
The rise and proliferation of new technologies for sensing and communicating air pollution has increased the stock of information on air pollution that is available as well as opened up new possibilities for timeliness, localization, and coverage. The actual impact of this information, however, on understanding, awareness and response, is less clear. How much information […]
58
How can we better share and communicate ambient air quality information so that it is effectively open for research, civil society, and other users?
Air quality information is not equally accessible for everyone for different reasons. Some regions do not have sufficient air monitoring infrastructure. In others, there is a lack of transparency and openness for air quality data. The accuracy and representativeness of information also varies across regions. Opening air quality information not only can improve government transparency […]
57
How can we create healthy and carbon-free cities that improve air quality, mitigate climate change and make the population of the planet healthier?
More than half of the world's population live in urban areas, a proportion that will almost surely rise in coming decades. These densely populated areas are epicenters of both emissions and exposure to air pollution. Cities thus have an important role to play in solving air pollution by mitigating emissions within their boundaries and using […]
45
What are the sources of air pollution at various geographic scales from neighborhood to city to country and regions?
While the potential sources of air pollution are relatively well known in general, the actual sources of pollution vary by time and place. Some are surprising, and largely invisible or hard to determine without monitoring, modeling, and careful analysis. This uncertainty affects pollution management in two ways: it can be difficult to identify effective solutions, […]
36
How can we achieve better and more integrated measurement and tracking of the impacts of air pollution and climate mitigation measures, including but not limited to including black carbon in United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change-recognized inventories and reporting?
The capability to measure and track the sources and impacts of air pollution on health, climate, and environment varies widely between regions. This, in turn handicaps clean air policy by creating uncertainty about sources and limiting ability to assess and improve effectiveness of interventions. The activities that contribute to climate change and air pollution overlap, […]
31
What is the distribution of health impacts of air pollution within and between countries and how does air inequality interact with other forms of inequity?
Similar to other environmental problems, air pollution levels are often higher in low income areas than others – whether one considers cross-country comparisons or within-city differences in air quality. The health impacts of higher exposure to air pollutants are compounded by the lack of access to health services, income inequality, and interaction of pollution with […]
28
What chemicals, types of particulate matter (e.g. size, chemical composition), and exposure patterns are most detrimental to human health, and how can we make the known and emerging links between pollution and health more visible to affected communities and other stakeholders?
The evidence is clear that air pollution can have a negative impact on health. For example, air pollution has shown to reduce life expectancy, affect children's performance in school, and cause various respiratory diseases. Despite these facts, there is a lack of awareness among the public about these negative effects of air pollution. Many people […]
24
What can we learn from COVID-19 lockdowns about air quality cases, impacts, solutions, and other lessons that can efficiently and effectively shape air quality policy, both locally and internationally, going forward?
Authorities around the world have imposed varying "lockdown" policies in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. These policies, along with peoples' response to them and to the COVID-19 risks, have reduced and/or relocated many social and economic activities. These changes, in turn, have affected emissions, air quality, and exposure patterns. Some areas have seen […]
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