Air pollution is a thematic area in the South African G20 Presidency, as a result, a draft technical paper, was developed, to explore the impacts of air pollution and the economic returns of investing in clean air.
This is good news, following a court decision that poor air quality in the Highveld Priority Area, is a breach of residents’ Constitutional Right to a healthy environment.
Speaking at the G20 Environment & Climate Sustainability Working Group Air Quality Webinar and the National Association for Clean Air (NACA) 56th Annual Conference, in East London, this week, Narend Singh, the Deputy Minister of Environment, said “air quality is life quality, and yet air pollution is a universal problem, impacting nine out of ten people globally.”
He also said the work of NACA, is to protect public health and advance clean air.
It also emerged at the webinar, that Government is expanding monitoring by partnering with the Clean Air Fund to deliver up to 200 low-cost air quality sensors, in populous regions like Gauteng.
Plans are to expand to KwaZulu Natal and other provinces.
“Let us work together, government, industry, the academia to ensure good air quality, as air quality is life quality.”
Picture: Supplied