SEOUL, Sept 7 (NNN) — The United Nations marked the first International Day of Clean Air for blues skies, today, September 7 as part of a global move to bring about increased awareness and international cooperation to reduce air pollution.
South Korea, which led global efforts to create this new International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, will host an event today to start celebrations around the world.
Various other events have been lined up worldwide to mark the day as well.
United Nations Environment Programme, which will facilitate the organisation of the day, in a media statement issued, said that air pollution remains the single greatest environmental risk to human health, causing seven million premature deaths annually from from diseases like stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
“It is responsible for a substantial amount of disability for those living with these diseases. Many air pollutants are also powerful climate forcers, harming the health and well-being of those living today and making the world less safe for future generations,” it said.
“This Day aims to increase international cooperation at the global, regional and sub-regional levels. It provides a platform for strengthening global solidarity as well as to raise ambitions and political momentum for action against air pollution and climate change, including actions like the increased collection of air quality data, carrying out joint research, developing new technologies and sharing best practices.
The theme for this year will be Clean Air For All, it said, adding that nine out of 10 people around the world were breathing air that did not meet the World Health Organization for clean air.
It also called on people, communities, businesses and local and national governments to make commitments and take steps that lead to a future without air pollution.
This first commemoration takes place as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to prevent in-person gatherings and hence most the Day’s events will be held virtually, it said.
The events will be also featured on
https://www.cleanairblueskies.org
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported President Moon Jae-in saying that his country will quickly transition to ‘clean, safe’ energy to reduce greenhouse gas and fine dust.
South Korea will “accelerate the transition to clean and safe energy,” he said in a speech for the virtual ceremony on the first International Day of Clean Air for blue skies.
Moon proposed the designation of the day during his U.N. speech last year.
The liberal Moon administration has not licensed the construction of a new coal power plant and plans to close 10 existing ones before the end of his tenure in 2022.
“(South Korea) will shut down 20 others additionally by 2034,” Moon said. “(It) plans to more than treble the number of solar and wind power facilities by 2025, compared with last year.”
The government will shift the country’s electricity supply system to a renewable energy base from that of fossil fuels over the long haul, he added.
The president emphasized the importance of clean air, with the world confronted with the new coronavirus pandemic and an increased number of natural disasters. This year, South Korea has also had more numerous and more powerful seasonal typhoons than previous years apparently due to climate change, he noted.
He said climate change has become “the most important problem of our generation,” which can no longer be put on the back burner. Moon also called for closer international cooperation to cope with the matter.
“What’s clear is that the climate-environment problem is not a problem for a certain single country and only international cooperation can bring about a fundamental change,” he said.
Moon said the government’s Green New Deal project represents a strategy to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, respond to the climate crisis, create jobs and enhance the “inclusiveness” of the South Korean society.
He added the government will strengthen cooperation with China and Japan in the fight against fine dust.
