EU complicit in colossal, lawless air pollution from Balkan coal plants 

Around 19,000 people are estimated to have died over the past three years as a result of air pollution from Western Balkan coal-fired power plants, according to a report released by CEE Bankwatch Network and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. The report, Comply or Close, launched to mark the International Day of Clean Air for… Continue reading EU complicit in colossal, lawless air pollution from Balkan coal plants 

Toxic lead in petrol has been eliminated globally

When service stations in Algeria stopped providing leaded petrol in July, the use of leaded petrol ended globally. This development follows an almost two decades long campaign by the UNEP-led global Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV). Since 1922, the use of tetraethyllead as a petrol additive to improve engine performance has been a catastrophe for the… Continue reading Toxic lead in petrol has been eliminated globally

Targeting pollutive brick kilns in Bangladesh with AI

Sanjeet Bagcchi A low-cost machine learning method has the potential to track down immensely polluting brick kilns in Bangladesh, helping regulators monitor environmental compliance, new research shows. Researchers from Stanford University, US, and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, say the combination of artificial intelligence and satellite imagery offers an inexpensive and scalable method for monitoring informal… Continue reading Targeting pollutive brick kilns in Bangladesh with AI

It’s time to set up a US–China Decarbonisation Working Group

Berlin Climate Strike

Giridharan Ramasubramanian The climate ambitions of the US and China are converging, offering an opportunity to develop new engagement based on decarbonisation resident Biden has promised to put the US on a path to net-zero emissions by 2050. Meanwhile, President Xi announced back in September that China would aim for carbon neutrality by 2060. The two countries… Continue reading It’s time to set up a US–China Decarbonisation Working Group

India’s Energy Policy needs Balancing Economic Growth with Human Development

Photo credit: 350.org/Usha Ramaiah/Flickr photos/reproduced under an Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 3.0 license

Rudra Narayan Mishra India needs cheap but clean energy towards improving hygiene/sanitation, education, health care, and smoke free energy for cooking to reduce indoor air pollution which will improve living condition and well-being of all, especially women and children. Use of clean energy is a pre-requisite for good health and well-being in the modern world.… Continue reading India’s Energy Policy needs Balancing Economic Growth with Human Development

How Air Pollution Could Be Harming Your Brain

Kasra Zarei According to one expert, “The risk of air pollution on the brain is a much broader risk factor than we’ve given it credit for.” When it comes to the health impacts of air pollution, most people think of lung and heart issues. However, a growing body of research suggests our brains could be… Continue reading How Air Pollution Could Be Harming Your Brain

Export of used vehicles a major contributor to air pollution

Millions of used cars, vans and minibuses exported from Europe, the United States and Japan to the developing world are of poor quality, contributing significantly to air pollution and hindering efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change, according to a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The report shows that between 2015… Continue reading Export of used vehicles a major contributor to air pollution

How Climate Change Is Putting Doctors In The Hot Seat

Melissa Bailey Global warming is often associated with dramatic effects such as hurricanes, fires and floods, but patients’ health issues represent the subtler ways that climate change is showing up in the exam room BOSTON — A 4-year-old girl was rushed to the emergency room three times in one week for asthma attacks. An elderly… Continue reading How Climate Change Is Putting Doctors In The Hot Seat

Nature gets a breathing space, but for how long?

Scientists and others concerned about climate change kept on urging human race to shift to greener paths of development; this pandemic sent out a strong message and has forced the economic growth to slow down reducing GHG emissions drastically.   China enforced the first lockdown in response to the Covid19, on January 23 this year,… Continue reading Nature gets a breathing space, but for how long?

Time for an airshed approach in Delhi NCR

Polash Mukerjee Air pollution knows no political boundaries, and this severe problem in the national capital region needs a coordinated airshed approach by all government agencies across state boundaries Delhi is in the news once again for its severe air quality, regularly exceeding 250 µg/m3 (microns per cubic metre) for PM2.5 since before Diwali on November 14. The… Continue reading Time for an airshed approach in Delhi NCR