Air pollution in Accra remains high – EPA | General news

Air quality in Accra remains poor and far above Ghana’s national standards and World Health Organization (WHO) requirements, said the executive director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA ), Dr Henry Kwabena Kokofu.

Contributors to poor air quality include mining, forestry, cement, manufacturing industries, vehicle emissions, and waste combustion.

The EPA boss said that although there has been some improvement, the current pollution level is above the national standard of 35 micrograms per cubic meter of air and the WHO standard of 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air.

Speaking at a ceremony marking this year’s International Clean Air Day for Blue Skies, Dr Kokofu said air pollution affects quality of life and causes cardiovascular disease, cancer lung and upper and lower respiratory tract infections.

The United Nations event, which was themed “Clean Air, Healthy Planet”, aimed to prioritize the need for healthy air for all, while maintaining conversations broad enough to encompass other critical issues. such as climate change, human and planetary health, as well as the sustainable development goals.

Dr Kokofu said the EPA in 2015 estimated 2,800 lives were lost due to the effects of air pollution and that number could rise to 4,600 by 2030 if urgent action is not taken.

“In the Ghanaian context, the economic cost associated with air pollution is estimated at US $ 2.5 billion or the equivalent of 4.2% of gross domestic product (World Bank, environmental analysis by country, 2019 ) “, did he declare.

Dr Kokofu said that as part of efforts to reduce air pollution, the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) through the EPA and other collaborating ministries and agencies had taken steps to develop a comprehensive air quality management plan, fuel quality standards and vehicle emission standards.

He said the ministry and EPA, with support from the World Bank, are implementing the Pollution Management and Environmental Health Program to collect real-time regulatory data for impact assessment on health and decision making.

The Executive Director noted that MESTI, in collaboration with EPA and other partners, had completed the installation of state-of-the-art air quality devices at the University of Ghana, Adabraka and in Dansoman to better control air pollution in the Greater Accra metropolitan area (GAMA).

Mr. Mohammed Adjei Sowah, Metropolitan Director General of Accra, said poor air quality was one of the main public health challenges the Local Assembly was working to tackle.

He said available data indicated that 1,400 people have died due to poor air quality in Accra, explaining that this figure could rise if adequate measures are not taken to keep air pollution down. at a low level.

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly, he said, as part of efforts to remedy the situation, had worked with some academic institutions to install sensors to collect air quality data, had embarked on tree planting in the city, raising public awareness of beautification and safe waste disposal.

Mr. Ebenezer Appah-Sampong, deputy executive director / technical services of the EPA, said that the implementation of the interventions has resulted in the gradual reduction of the levels of particles in the ambient air in Accra.

However, he noted that a lot of effort, commitment and resources were needed from stakeholders to achieve the goals of Agenda 2025.

Mr Appah-Sampong said the Agency, in partnership with stakeholders, is reviewing the current air quality management plan to include updated text and improved data from the air quality management program. pollution and environmental health.

The EPA, he said, had taken steps to set up air quality networks in major cities to monitor the air quality situation in the country and disclose the results to the public.

The growing rural exodus and population increase that Ghana is experiencing is likely to overtake and challenge the already inadequate infrastructure that exists to deal with pollution.

The cities of Accra and Tema are home to most of the country’s industries, some of which are aging and highly emitting.

Ghana’s vehicle fleet is also growing, with the current registered vehicle population exceeding 2.1 million, according to the Driver Vehicle License Authority.

The Greater Accra metropolitan area has the highest number of registered vehicles, around 1.2 million.

These activities, including settlement issues, if not addressed comprehensively, could pose a serious risk to ambient air quality and public health in the Greater Accra region.

In 2016, emissions from the energy sector accounted for 15.02 megatonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO2e), accounting for 79 percent of total national emissions of 29.28 MtCO2e (excluding net emissions from forestry and land use), a report on the review of Ghana’s National Emissions Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement indicated.

He revealed that the upward trend in emissions in the energy sector was due to the increasing use of liquid fuels in transport and thermal power generation.

“Light crude oil was the dominant fuel for power generation until 2010, when natural gas joined the fossil fuel group, mainly because of its cost efficiency. The transportation category accounted for 48%, followed by the energy industry, 35%, and manufacturing and construction, 7.2%, ”the report said.