New York – Pollution in Asia’s large cities has reached an alarming level. Poor air quality has become a serious threat for public health in Asian countries, including Indonesia. Strategic steps must be taken to anticipate the increasing effects of air pollution.
This was explained by Vice Chairman of Commission VII of Indonesia’s House of Representatives, Satya Widya Yudha, as a speaker in the Air Quality Asia-World Bank High Level Strategy Session at the United Nations Environment Programme headquarters (UNEP), New York, last Tuesday (16/5). This session was also attended by Ina Krisnamuthi as Indonesia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jamil Achmad as Deputy Director of UNEP, Shazia Rafi as President and Convenor of Air Quality Asia, a representative from the Inter-Parliament Union (IPU), Wayne Forest as CHairman of the US-Indonesia Chamber of Commerce, as well as representatives from Asian nations such as China, Korea, and Pakistan.
“The WHO has stated that air pollution is the primary cause of cancer-related deaths. Every year there are at least 7 million premature deaths globally due to poor air quality. In Southeast Asia, every day more than 700 people die due to air pollution. In India, more than 3,000 people per day die. Imagine this occurring every year, very tragic,” said Satya.
Therefore, concrete measures must be taken collectively in order to prevent the increasing effects of air pollution. Improving air quality must become a global policy in order to reduce the high death rate due to pollution.
Satya, who is also a Board Member of Air Quality Asia (AQA), explained how air quality in Asian countries has become a crucial aspect in the midst of rapid regional economic growth. In fact, in 2030 it is predicted that Asia will become the center of global economic growth, given the rise of Asian developing countries with high economic growth including Indonesia. India has even been touted as the ‘new China’ with its exceptional economic growth.
“In the midst of escalating economic growth rates in the Asia region, air quality becomes a crucial aspect. Regional states cannot afford to be indifferent regarding air pollution; this is not only a global issue, but an indicator of clean and qualified state management concerning pollution control. Air pollution is highly problematic for the future of countries with rising economies,” said this Golkar Party politician.
Satya explained, there must be concrete steps to prevent the widening effects of pollution. China, for example, as allocated more than USD 535 in 2012 to mitigate air pollution in a number of its large cities. India is also currently constructing a 130 MW solar-based power generator, thus making the price of solar energy cheaper than coal.
“In South Asia, there is a USD 2.5 trillion potential in clean energy-based transportation and property. This could be an example for other Asian countries, especially in Southeast Asia,” he said.
Indonesia as part of the Asia region has dissimilar air pollution trends compared to other Asian countries such as India and China. In the two latter countries, air pollution is caused more by industrial pollution, whereas in Indonesia 90% of air pollution is caused by land transportation. The Indonesian Government must take strategic steps to anticipate the effects of air pollution, such as constructing detection facilities for PM2.5 in 45 large cities in compliance with WHO standards. Currently, only several large cities such as Jakarta, Bandung and Bogor implement PM2.5 standards.
“Clean energy has become a necessity. In the future Indonesia must be completely free of high emission oil fuels. Oil fuels must be converted from the Euro 2 standard to the Euro 4 standard, and made compulsory for all motor vehicles in Indonesia. In addition, the conversion from oil fuels to gas fuels must also be implemented consistently,” stated Satya. (end)
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