WED Guides for Businesses, Cities, Governments, Schools & Universities and Individuals

June 5th is World Environment Day and the theme this year is air pollution. This day is a call to action to combat one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time.

To help people respond to this call the UN has put together an assortment of guides focusing on solutions to the problem of air pollution.

The five guides are: Businesses, Cities, Governments, Schools and Universities and Individuals.

Guide for Businesses

Here are some ways that businesses get involved in combating air pollution. Businesses have made pledges for World Environment Day. These pledges include:

• Using renewable sources of energy
• Using fresh air ventilation for cooling or install ultra-efficient, hydrofluorocarbon-free cooling
• Using recyclable materials, reducing emissions and investing in research and development to imagine new and less damaging ways of doing business. 
• Hosted a tree planting day
• Make a pledge to buy low-emission or electric vehicles for the company fleet. 
• Consider how you can reduce emissions of air pollutants from facilities and supply chains

Click here to find out more about what businesses can do.

Guide for Cities

Only 1 in 10 cities have air quality measures that meet World Health Organization standards. Consider using World Environment Day to make municipal commitments on improving air quality by curbing transport and energy emissions and creating more green spaces. Here are some ideas:

• Offer free transport in urban areas to encourage drivers to leave their cars at home.
• Host tree-plantings
• Phase out diesel buses and trucks (Madrid, Paris, Athens, and Mexico City have made this committment)
• Look at landfill gas recovery as an energy option that harnesses land emissions rather than allowing them to enter the atmosphere or our lungs

Click here to find out more about what cities can do.

Guide for Governments

This year World Environment Day will is being hosted by China, which has demonstrated tremendous leadership in tackling air pollution domestically and its commitment to improve air quality which is an inspiration to countries around the world. Government can act to improve air quality and protect citizens from harmful toxins by:

• Announce new requirements on industry to reduce harmful air pollutants. 
• Make a pledge to phase out petrol and diesel-based cars. 
• Investment in renewable energy sources. 
• Put in place national air quality action plans
• Monitor air quality, assess pollution
• Join the Breathe Life campaign run by UN Environment, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, the World Health Organization and the World Bank

Click here to find out more about what governments can do.

Guide for Schools and Universities

World Environment Day can be a platform for students and education officials to lead the fight for cleaner air and ask their governments and schools to transition to cleaner energy. Here are some examples of actions that could be taken by schools:

• Host a tree-planting event 
• Ask teachers and professors to teach a whole day on sustainability and air quality
• Support students in the creation of environmental clubs on campus, which can empower youth to be innovative and come up with ideas to tackle air pollution
• Commit to using renewable energy on your campuses. 
• Install air quality monitors to check air quality on your campus and area so that the community is aware of the air they are breathing. 
• Provide electric buses and making your school campus bicycle friendly
• Creating no-car-idling zones near your School

Lesson Plans

Click here to check out a 45-minute science lesson to teach K - Grade 12 students about the sources of air pollution.

Click here to access Air Pollution 101 is a one-class Science lesson plan for high school students that educates about the sources and dangers of air pollution.

Click here to check out a hands-on activity guide for educators to use in the classroom about how to measure particular matter. 

Click here for Air Quality lesson plan resources.

University Lecture Notes

Click here to access a 25-page University of Illinois Air Pollution Leaning Module focusing on air pollution sources and its effects on the environment and human health.

Click here to access 1-2 lesson LSC Lecture Notes on Air Pollution covering the history of major air pollution events, primary and secondary pollutants, a case study example and air pollution trends.

Other Resources for Schools

Click here to access an archived online Air Pollution Course about the principles and concepts of air quality management. Source: The Open University

Click here to access to access an Air Quality Toolkit targeted at Primary Schools aims to educate children and their families about the positive changes they can make to improve air quality.

Click here to access a Handbook for Schools on Organic Waste Management can help you understand how to manage organic waste in order to reduce emissions from waste.

Click here to access the US EPA Air Quality Flag Program helps to alerts institutions to the local air quality forecast and helps them to take actions to protect people’s health, including those with asthma. Source: Air Now

Click here to access the UK Clean Air Day resources and activities provide a variety of air quality educational materials that can be used to educate your students about air pollution.

Click here to find out more about what schools & universities can do.

Guide for Individuals

Nine out of 10 people worldwide breathe polluted air. Air pollution is identified as the most important health issue of our time, causing 1 in 9 deaths globally and an estimated 7 million premature deaths every year. Apart from causing respiratory diseases, air pollution is a major cause of heart attacks, lung cancer and stroke in people. Air pollution also harms our natural environment, decreasing the oxygen supply in our oceans, making it harder for plants to grow and contributing to climate change. But the good news is that air pollution is preventable.

Solutions are known and can be implemented. The world needs to act now. Air pollution impacts all of us and we all have a role to play to keep our air clean. The sources of air pollution are many but if we act now, we can work towards eliminating dangerous pollutants that are costing lives, driving climate change, and weakening our planet’s life systems every day.

Activities for everybody

• Plant trees 
• Clean up trash 
• Find ways to commute without polluting 
• Widely share information on the importance of acting to combat air pollution

Click here to find out more about what individuals can do. 

Related
Faith Based Guide for World Environment Day
World Environment Day 2019 is About Combating Air Pollution

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World Environment Day 2019 is About Combating Air Pollution

World Environment Day is on June 5th and this year the focus in on the theme of  "air pollution".  This day is a call to action to combat one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time. World Environment Day invites us all to consider how we can make changes in our daily lives to reduce air pollution and benefit people's health. This includes reducing climate change causing greenhouse gas emissions. This year's host is China, a country that has demonstrated tremendous leadership in tackling air pollution domestically and its commitment to improving air quality can serve as an inspiration to countries around the world. Together we can #BeatAirPollution


Nine out of ten people worldwide breathe polluted air. This a global public health emergency that demands our action. Air pollution harms our health and our common home. This #WorldEnvironmentDay, @UNEnvironment is rallying the global community to take action to #BeatAirPollution. People around the world have organized events to take action and celebrate this day.  Click here to see registered events.  Be inspired and get involved in solutions!

Nobody is safe from air pollution. How much pollution we breathe in is dependent on many factors, such as access to clean energy for cooking and heating, the time of day and the weather. Rush hour is an obvious source of local pollution, but air pollution can travel long distances, sometimes across continents on international weather patterns.

Sources of air pollution

Nobody is safe from this pollution, which comes from five main human sources. These sources spew out a range of substances including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, ground-level ozone, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbons, and lead–all of which are harmful to human health.

Household

The main source of household air pollution is the indoor burning of fossil fuels, wood and other biomass-based fuels to cook, heat and light homes. Around 3.8 million premature deaths are caused by indoor air pollution each year, the vast majority of them in the developing world.

Out of 193 countries, 97 countries have increased the percentage of households that have access to cleaner burning fuels to over 85 percent. However, 3 billion people continue to use solid fuels and open fires for cooking, heating, and lighting. The adoption of cleaner, more modern stoves and fuels can reduce the risks of illness and save lives.

Industry

In many countries, power generation is a leading source of air pollution. Coal-burning power plants are a major contributor, while diesel generators are a growing concern in off-grid areas. Industrial processes and solvent use, in the chemical and mining industries, also pollute the air.

Policies and programmes aimed at increasing energy efficiency and production from renewable sources have a direct impact on a country’s air quality. At the moment, 82 countries out of 193 have incentives that promote investment in renewable energy production, cleaner production, energy efficiency and pollution control.

Transport

The global transport sector accounts for almost one-quarter of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions and this proportion is rising. Air pollution emissions from transport have been linked to nearly 400,000 premature deaths. Almost half of all deaths by air pollution from transport are caused by diesel emissions, while those living closest to major traffic arteries are up to 12 percent more likely to be diagnosed with dementia.

Reducing vehicle emissions is an important intervention to improve air quality, especially in urban areas. Policies and standards that require the use of cleaner fuels and advanced vehicle emissions standards can reduce vehicle emissions by 90 percent or more.

Agriculture

The major sources of air pollution from agriculture include livestock, which produces methane and ammonia, rice paddies, which produce methane, and the burning of agricultural waste. Methane emissions contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone, which causes asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Methane is also a more potent global warming gas than carbon dioxide – its impact is 34 times greater over a 100-year period. Around 24 percent of all greenhouse gases emitted worldwide come agriculture, forestry and other land-use.

There are many ways to reduce air pollution from agriculture. People can move to a plant-based diet and/or reduce food waste, while farmers can reduce methane from livestock by optimizing feed digestibility and improving grazing and grassland management.

Waste

Open waste burning and organic waste in landfills release harmful dioxins, furans, methane, and fine particulate matter like black carbon into the atmosphere. Globally, an estimated 40 percent of waste is openly burned. The problem is most severe in urbanizing regions and developing countries. Open burning of agricultural and municipal waste is practiced in 166 out of 193 countries.

Improving the collection, separation, and disposal of solid waste reduces the amount of waste that is burned or landfilled. Separating organic waste and turning it into compost or bioenergy improves soil fertility and provides an alternative energy source. Reducing the estimated one-third of all food that is lost or wasted can also improve air quality.

Other sources

Not all air pollution comes from human activity. Volcanic eruptions, dust storms and other natural processes also cause problems. Sand and dust storms are particularly concerning. Fine particles of dust can travel thousands of miles on the back of these storms, which may also carry pathogens and harmful substances, causing acute and chronic respiratory problems.

The Mask Challenge

One of the actions for World Environment Day is the Mask Challenge. Face masks are a great symbol to show leaders we want to breathe clean air.People are taking the pledge and challenge others to take action. They are taking picture and videos of themselves wearing a mask and posting it on social media. They are tagging people, organizations and companies and challenging them to act on air pollution.

Click here to launch a tweet on Twitter, here to post on Facebook or here to post on Instagram.

What you can do

• Make a difference this year.
• Plant trees with your friends
• Commute without polluting
• Clean the environment you love.
• Use public transport or car sharing, cycle or walk
• Switch to a hybrid or electric vehicle and request electric taxis
• Turn off the car engine when stationary
• Reduce your consumption of meat and dairy to help cut methane emissions
• Compost organic food items and recycle non-organic trash
• Switch to high-efficiency home heating systems and equipment
• Save energy: turn off lights and electronics when not in use
• Choose non-toxic paints and furnishings

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