Air Pollution and Sustainable Development Goals: Connecting the Dots

By Amishi Tewari.

Breathing is the most fundamental sign of life in many life forms, including humans. However, the simple act of breathing has become a health hazard due to the lack of clean air. According to the World Health Organisation, over 99% of the world’s population reside in regions with unhealthy levels of air pollution — the leading environmental risk factor for disease and death worldwide. It also causes economic losses, exacerbates climate change, and reduces agricultural productivity.

In 2015, the United Nations Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, whose core is formed by 17 interconnected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The agenda aims to achieve a balance between the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. In this context, it is important to explore how the SDGs address the challenge of air pollution and how air pollution affects these goals.

Air Pollution and SDGs: The Interlinkages

Although air pollution is not included as a standalone goal in the SDGs, it significantly affects several SDGs, including those concerning health, economic development, clean energy, and climate action. Conversely, these SDGs influence air pollution. While the SDG framework recognises some of the interlinkages as targets or indicators, it does not encompass all of them. The interlinkages between air pollution and some of the SDGs are discussed below.

1. SDG 1 (No poverty): The poor often use readily available and cheap unclean fuels for cooking and space heating, leading to increased air pollution. Further, they are less equipped to deal with its impacts. Therefore, efforts towards eradicating poverty can have important co-benefits for air quality and vice versa.

2. SDG 2 (Zero hunger): Air pollution damages crops and reduces agricultural productivity. A study estimated that ozone alone reduced wheat yields in India by 21% in 2014–15. This is a huge risk to global food security and a hindrance to achieving the target of zero hunger by 2030.

3. SDG 3 (Good health and well-being): Exposure to air pollution is linked to several diseases, including neurological disorders, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular diseases, and stroke. Every year, 7 million lives are lost to air pollution. Therefore, reducing air pollution will significantly reduce the associated death and disease burden, thereby fulfilling an indicator under SDG 3 (3.9.1).

4. SDG 5 (Gender equality): Women and girls, especially in low- and middle-income countries and rural areas, are more likely to be exposed to harmful pollutants released from unclean cooking fuels, such as coal and wood. Targets 5.A and 5.B under SDG 5 can play a key role in reducing air pollution and improving health outcomes for women by giving them equal financial rights and empowering them with technology.

5. SDG 7 (Clean and affordable energy): Investing in clean energy infrastructure and technologies and increasing the affordability of clean energy sources can help reduce air pollution from sources such as cooking, heating, and transportation.

6. SDG 9 (Industry, innovation, and infrastructure): Target 9.4 aims to make industries more sustainable by adopting cleaner and environmentally sound technologies and improving resource-use efficiency. Industries fueled by fossil fuels are major contributors to air pollution, and a shift to cleaner fuels and technologies can have immense benefits for air quality.

7. SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities): Efforts directed towards making cities more sustainable and resilient, such as promoting sustainable urban planning and improving mobility, can reduce air pollution by reducing energy demand. Specifically, target 11.6 aims to reduce the environmental impact of cities, with an indicator for reducing population-weighted particulate matter.

8. SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production): Target 12.4 focuses on improving the management of chemicals and waste and reducing their release into the atmosphere, water, and soil. This could help reduce emissions arising from activities such as waste burning.

9. SDG 13 (Climate action): Air pollution and climate change are closely related as greenhouse gases (GHGs) and air pollutants often originate from the same sources. Further, air pollutants such as ozone and black carbon, referred to as short-lived climate pollutants, are also climate forcers. Synergising efforts to address climate change and improve air quality can yield significant benefits by reducing GHG emissions and mitigating air pollutants.

Challenges and Opportunities: The Way Forward

The SDGs acknowledge that addressing air pollution is crucial to sustainable development. More governments are adopting policies for improving air quality, such as vehicle emission standards and promoting clean cooking and heating. However, much remains to be done.

Making the SDGs more inclusive of air pollution and explicitly mentioning the linkages with other SDGs will help attract attention to air pollution from policymakers, civil society, and the private sector. It will also help direct more resources towards tackling the issue and provide a global platform for collaboration between different stakeholders. A structured framework to better align clean air targets with the SDGs and integrate air pollution into the existing SDG framework can help accelerate the achievement of SDGs by 2030. As we move into the second half of the SDG timeline, it is important to take stock of the progress so far and chart a course for the future.

At our annual flagship event, the India Clean Air Summit (ICAS), we are bringing together experts from diverse backgrounds to deliberate on the issue and explore solutions. If you are passionate about clean air and sustainable development, join us at ICAS from 23–25 August 2023.

The author works in the area of air pollution within the Climate, Environment and Sustainability Sector at the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), a research-based think tank.

Register for ICAS here: ICAS 2023 (cstep.in)

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