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Chapter 2: State and Trends


in younger children (Dherani et al. 2008). Other impacts include an increased risk of lung cancer (Kurmi et al.2012) and chronic bronchitis (Kurmi et al. 2010).


Factors such as high-density settlement and other


environmental and social conditions of some hazards are responsible of the risks. Poor and wealthy people in Santiago de Chile and Bogotá are comparable in their health risk from air pollution and heat (Magrin et al. 2014). The elderly are considered a vulnerable group to air pollution and heat because they have conditions that limit the body’s ability to respond to this kind of stress (Gamble et al. 2013).


Reducing air pollution does not always promote the objectives of protecting health and climate, but can pose trade-offs. All particles are hazardous to health, and some are contribute to climate warming, such as black carbon, and some contribute to climate cooling, such as sulphates (Smith et al. 2009). In fact, if all anthropogenic particles are eliminated in the atmosphere, it would be a great success for health, but only have a minor net impact on climate change (Smith et al. 2014).


IPCC (2013) indicates that there is little evidence that climate change, by itself, will affect the levels of particulate matter in the long term in a consistent manner. Some scenarios of future climate change indicate that chronic exposure to ground level ozone can be improved (Smith et al. 2014).


If temperature rises, many air pollution models project an increase in ground level ozone production, particularly in urban areas and surroundings (Hesterberg et al. 2009). Increased temperature also accelerates ozone destruction, and it is believed that the net direct impact of climate change on ozone concentrations around the world can be reduced (IPCC 2013). However, some scenarios (IPCC 2013) suggest that tropospheric ozone can be increased through increased methane emissions stimulated by climate change. Models also show that local variations may produce a different result at the global level (Selin et al. 2009).


In 2012 a total of 138 000 deaths in the Americas (low and middle income) were attributed to ambient air pollution (58 000) and household air pollution (80 000) (WHO 2014a, WHO 2014b). Deaths per person due to ambient and household air pollution were 47 per 100 000 people, mainly due to ischaemic heart disease, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (WHO 2015b).


Health and costs of air pollution in Latin America and the Caribbean


WHO and others, including the Health Effects Institute (HEI), have estimated country and regional levels of health impacts from air pollution, by using mortality as an indicator. The SCALA study (HEI 2012), used a methodology for attributing mortality to measured environmental levels of air pollutants such as PM10


methodology concluded that a small but significant link exists between mortality data and exposure to PM10


and ozone. The use of a common and


ozone. Comparatively, these results were similar to those observed in other parts of the world by using the same methodological approach. These results, considering the lack of information at the city level and its relation with natural corridors to connections to ecosystems, is becoming a powerful tool to support investment in the improvement of public transport, cleaner fuels, development of low- emission technologies and other interventions that promote more sustainable cities and cleaner air. This kind of valuation should be promoted in the region in order to provide decision makers and communities with information about the impact of air pollution in their cities.


2.1.5 Response


In December 2015 at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, governments of LAC presented their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) (More… 8). In March 2014, the XIX Meeting of the Forum of Ministers of Environment for Latin America and the Caribbean adopted


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