As leaders from 196 countries meet for the Paris Climate Change Conference, a World Health Organisation (WHO) Report has identified measures to reduce health risks from climate pollutants.
We are very pleased that active transport is one of the top four effective, measurable priorities listed in the report. The report urges governments to develop policies and investments to foster ‘dedicated rapid transit such as buses and trains and… safe pedestrian and cycle networks’.
This is supported by previous WHO studies on active transport that have suggested that costs associated with promoting a shift to public transport and creating safe walking and cycling networks will be offset by the reduction in costs associated with the loss of life and costs of treating people for air-pollution related illnesses, traffic injuries and diseases related to physical inactivity.
Not only do ‘short-lived climate pollutants’ produce a strong global warming effect, they contribute significantly to the more than 7 million premature deaths annually linked to air pollution.
The WHO will be running an official side-event on Climate and Health in Paris on 8 December: ‘Why the climate change agreement is critical to Public Health’.
View the WHO report, ‘New report identifies four ways to reduce health risks from climate pollutants’ here.