Environmental policy | Better air through climate protection

In 2019, distant bushfires blanketed Sydney in thick smog. Photo: dpa/AAP/Steven Saphore When it came to the best measures against air pollution, the focus has so far been on technical and local solutions: such as replacing combustion engines with means of transport with emission-free drives, driving bans or installing filter systems in factory and power plant chimneys. In the past, both had ensured that the air quality in several million-dollar juggernauts had improved and that harmful smog was reduced. But now the UN Meteorological Organization (WMO) is sounding the alarm in a new report: According to the experts, the improvements achieved are in danger of being eaten up by the consequences of climate change.

In particular, global warming is causing the extent and duration of vegetation and peat fires to increase significantly - these are now almost impossible to extinguish, and their smoke pollutes the air even hundreds of kilometers away. And this also promotes the formation of ground-level ozone. As a result, the number of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases increases, leading to tens of thousands of additional deaths. Without a massive reduction in CO2 emissions worldwide, little will be achieved here.

As is well known, environmental and climate protectors do not always agree and are sometimes embroiled in bitter disputes; just think of conflicts over the expansion of wind farms. In the case of the fight against air pollution, the following applies without reservation: climate protection is also the best environmental protection.

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