Science for evidence-based policy and action
Decision makers are often faced with a lack of pollution data, and an overall low national capacity for anayzing data and assessing pollution’s social and environmental costs.
- Data Collection and sharing
- Global, regional and thematic assessments
- Shared environmental information systems and open data policy
- Economics of pollution and health
- Benefits of action on pollution
Solutions
Use geospatial information
Some forms of pollution are highly localized, whereas others are diffuse and transboundary. Geographic information systems can help countries map pollution hotspots and allow them to prioritize their actions. One initiative under way looks at creating open-source maps using geospatial information on pollution and dynamics of dispersion, combined with population density, exposure and risk, protected areas and other bio-physical or socioeconomic datasets. The World Environment Situation Room provides a platform for monitoring and accessing real-time global information on specific pollution areas.
A Guidance Manual for Policymakers and Regulators for the Environmentally Sound Management of Waste or Used Lead Acid Batteries in Africa
UNEP in collaboration with Pure Earth and with the financial assistance from the European Commission has developed a Guidance Manual for Policymakers and Regulators for the Environmentally Sound Management of Waste or Used Lead Acid Batteries in Africa. The Guidance Manual provides an overview of the steps that governments and stakeholders can take to evaluate the present state of waste lead acid battery (WLAB) management and, as warranted, introduce policies and regulations to properly manage WLABs throughout the supply chain in an environmentally sound manner (ESM).
Assess the socioeconomic cost of pollution
Pollution has significant economic costs due to its impact on human health, human capital, productivity, healthcare costs and ecosystems, but the nexus between environment and health is often poorly understood. UNEP and its partners are currently working on a report on the costs of pollution to human capital and implications for poverty reduction, to help decision makers better calculate the economic benefits of action—and the costs of inaction. A report on India State - Level Disease Burden Initiative Air Pollution Collaborators (2020) "Health and economic impact of air pollution in the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease study 2019" has been released here. A report on Air Pollution and Development in Africa, focuses on the impacts on health, the economy and human capital with a focus on three countries, Ethiopia, Ghana and Rwanda is available here.
Better pollution governance through improved analysis of pollution-related information
The capacity to collect and analyse high-quality, timely, comparable information on pollution—such as regulatory and policy information, and pollution levels—is crucial for countries to improve pollution governance. When national systems for collecting and using data to produce statistics exist, countries can then conduct pollution assessments, create geospatial maps and evaluate the economics of pollution. To build the statistical capacity needed to collect and analyse this data, UNEP is supporting the development of methodologies for assessing water and air quality, waste management, presence of hazardous waste and marine pollution. It is also building the capacity of national environmental agencies to compile and use pollution-related statistics.
The report Actions on Air Quality: A Global Summary of Policies and Programmes to Reduce Air Pollution has been released on the occasion of the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, providing an overview of progress on selected key measures to improve air quality. This is a key instrument to inform further acceleration of action to tackle air pollution.
The First Global Assessment of the Air Pollution Legislation was also released, which reviews air quality legislation in 194 countries and the European Union, and also key to understanding the state of play of air pollution legislation, gaps and challenges and recommended action.
Information and knowledge resources on pollution can be accessed the World Environment Situation Page, in the Resources page and in the air pollution dashboard.