Hi everyone! This will be my final week of publishing blog posts, before the blog gets accessed by Prof Taylor and Dr Chen. As such, I would like of my first post of the week by listing out several things I discovered and learnt through my research, and the module.
I always began each week’s series of posts by looking for data on IQAir. Some countries have data on their air quality, whereas others do not. Even if countries had monitoring stations to report to IQAir, some of these real-time AQI indices do not reflect the severe pollution experienced by citizens throughout the years.
When researching on Mongolia, I discovered an article that neatly summarizes why studying pollution in the Global South is extremely important. I echo the sentiments by Jun, in the world, the negative impacts of air pollution fall disproportionately on the most vulnerable people from poor countries. As such, it is important for all sectors from affected and non-affected countries to work in tandem to analyze the root problems of pollution, and design policies that allow each sector to use its expertise and resources to tackle the issue from a multi-dimensional perspective.
Another article also discusses the potential for cooperation. Irfan questioned when and how the responsibility to fight pollution will be evenly distributed in the future. As of now, countries that do not have to struggle with pollution are not assisting other countries who are fighting for their lives. But should non-polluted countries help? What will they get in return? Then again, did these countries not pollute in the past as well? Are the damaging environmental impacts caused by their high levels of development in the past forgotten, simply because they have the technologies and capacity today to develop further?
At the same time, should we argue with leaders of the Global South who defend their pollution levels by claiming that it is imperative in order for them to catch up with the Global North? A report by Greenwood-Nguyen & Roth explains why some forms of pollution are not the fault of the Global South. They posit that pollution is not produced by a group of individuals, but rather, produced by socioeconomic systems that contribute to the making of waste and encourages wasting. They focus more on the plastic pollution in oceans, and how many news headlines tend to sensationalize who to blame. These questions listed above are widely discussed in academia. This article by Bello sums up the environmental movement against pollution and other harmful activities in the Global South.
I encourage you to watch this video from the World Health Organization, because it explains to you the recent initiative set up less than a year ago.
You can read this link which summarizes the video pretty succinctly. You can also refer to this article to see another smaller-scale example of communities trying to fight pollution on their own. If you click on the hyperlink, you will be directed to a brief summary of pollution done by Harting, and her insights on the Clean Air Toolbox, which is a project that aims to help many poor countries grapple with pollution.
Up next, what lies ahead. See you in the next one! ✿
References
Bello, W. (2007) The Environmental Movement in the Global South. 12 October. TNI. Available from: https://www.tni.org/en/article/the-environmental-movement-in-the-global-south [Accessed: 4 April 2022].
Greenwood-Nguyen, A. & Roth, R. J. (2019) Plastic in the Oceans is not the Fault of the Global South. 31 January. The Conversation. Available from: https://theconversation.com/plastic-in-the-oceans-is-not-the-fault-of-the-global-south-110247 [Accessed: 4 April 2022].
Harting, C. (2021) Air Pollution is Harming People in the Global South at an Alarming Rate. A Climate School Project Wants to Help. 23 July. Columbia Climate School Climate, Earth, and Society. Available from: https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2021/07/23/air-pollution-global-south/#:~:text=Menu-,Air%20Pollution%20Is%20Harming%20People%20in,South%20at%20an%20Alarming%20Rate.&text=According%20to%20a%202019%20UNICEF,deaths%20in%20New%20Delhi%20alone. [Accessed: 4 April 2022].
Irfan, S. (2021) The Global North’s Environmental Impact on the Global South. 20 April. Basel Action Network. Available from: https://www.ban.org/news/2021/4/20/the-global-norths-environmental-impact-on-the-global-south [Accessed: 4 April 2022].
Jun, S. (n. d.) Is the Raw Coal Ban a Silver Bullet to Solving Air Pollution in Mongolia?: A Study of the Mongolian Government’s Air Pollution Reduction Policies and Recommendations in the Context of COVID-19. Journal of Public & International Affairs. Available from: https://jpia.princeton.edu/news/raw-coal-ban-silver-bullet-solving-air-pollution-mongolia-study-mongolian-governments-air [Accessed: 7 March 2022].
WHO (2021) Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental threats to human health, alongside climate change. 22 September. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/22-09-2021-new-who-global-air-quality-guidelines-aim-to-save-millions-of-lives-from-air-pollution. [Accessed: 4 April 2022].
World Health Organization (WHO) (2021) LIVE: Launch of the WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines with Dr Tedros. 22 September. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiO5V4ZZRwI [Accessed: 4 April 2022].