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By Tom Miles
GENEVA (Reuters) – Asia could gain considerable health, environmental, agricultural and economic growth benefits if governments applied 25 policies such as the ban on burning garbage and reducing industrial emissions, according to a US report.
Air pollution poses a health risk to 4 billion Asians, who kill about 4 million each year, and efforts to address this problem are already well underway to ensure that air pollution does not occur. It does not worsen in 2030, but considerable progress could be made, the report said.
The report's 25 recommendations would cost between $ 300 and $ 600 billion a year, which represents a significant investment, but a slight loss from the projected $ 12 trillion increase in economic growth.
The publication of the report "Air pollution in Asia and the Pacific: science-based solutions" coincides Tuesday with the World Health Organization holding its first global conference on pollution in the Asia-Pacific In Geneva this week.
The recommendations also included post-combustion controls to reduce emissions from power plants, stricter standards for fuel transportation, the end of regular flaring of gas from oil wells, and energy efficiency standards for energy efficiency. 39, industry and households.
The largest gains would come from clean cooking, reduced emissions from industry, the use of renewable fuels for electricity generation and more efficient use of electricity. fertilizer.
Significant improvements in post-combustion controls and emission standards for on-road vehicles were already anticipated due to recent legislation, although both could be further improved.
Indeed, India could stop the use of private vehicles in the capital, New Delhi, if air pollution, which has reached extreme levels in recent days, worsens, said Tuesday a senior official the environment.
Authorities in the capital have already advised residents to limit outdoor activities from early next month until at least the end of the Hindu Diwali holiday on Nov. 7, when firecrackers usually tend to alter the air strangled by fire stubble. in neighboring states.
Helena Molin Valdés, head of the secretariat of the United States Environmental Climate and Air Quality Coalition, said political authorities are increasingly open to the fight against air pollution. The report reflects three years of discussions with governments.
"What governments were saying in the region was:" Do not tell us we have a problem, we know that there is a problem, how can we solve it and what will it take to solve it? "She said.
The report estimates that its recommendations would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% from a baseline scenario, potentially reducing global warming by one-third of a degree Celsius by 2050, which would also contribute to the fight against climate change.
One billion people would benefit from high air quality, while the number of people exposed to the worst pollution would be reduced by 80%, reaching 430 million. Premature deaths would decrease by a third.
Crop yields would benefit from a reduction in ozone, which would have reduced 2015 harvests by 10% for maize, 4% for rice, 22% for soybeans and 9% for rice. Asia, for a total of 51 million tonnes.
(Tom Miles report, edited by Alison Williams)
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