Clean-air solutions can improve lives of nearly one billion in South Asia: World Bank

WASHINGTON: Clean-air solutions could improve the lives of nearly one billion people across South Asia, a World Bank report released on Monday stated.

The report, 'A Breath of Change: Solutions for Cleaner Air in the Indo‑Gangetic Plains and Himalayan Foothills', finds that air pollution in the Indo‑Gangetic Plains and Himalayan Foothills (IGP‑HF) — covering parts of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan — causes major losses in health and productivity. Nearly one billion people in the region breathe unhealthy air, resulting in around one million premature deaths each year, and economic losses estimated at close to 10 per cent of regional GDP annually.

The World Bank said pollution in the IGP‑HF stems from five key sources: households burning solid fuels for cooking and heating; industries burning fossil fuels and biomass inefficiently and without appropriate filter technology; motorists using inefficient internal combustion vehicles; farmers burning crop residues and inefficiently managing fertilisers and manure; and households and firms burning waste.

The report highlights solutions that can be readily adopted and scaled up, including electric cooking; electrification and modernisation of industrial boilers, furnaces and kilns; non‑motorised and electric transport systems; improved crop residue and livestock waste management; and better waste segregation, recycling and disposal.

It groups clean‑air measures into three mutually reinforcing core areas. First, abatement solutions that reduce emissions at source in cooking, industry, transport, agriculture and waste management. Second, protection measures that strengthen health and education systems so children and vulnerable communities are safeguarded during the transition to clean air. Third, strong institutions supported by regulatory frameworks, market‑based instruments and regional coordination to sustain multi‑sector and multi‑jurisdictional progress over time.

“This report shows that solutions are within reach and offers a practical roadmap for policy and decision makers to implement coordinated, feasible, and evidence‑based solutions at scale. There are strong financial and economic rationales for South Asian enterprises, households, and farmers to adopt cleaner technologies and practices, and for governments to support them,” said Martin Heger, Senior Environmental Economist at the World Bank.

To help countries operationalise solutions, the report emphasises “the Four I’s”: information that provides accessible and reliable data for planning and accountability; incentives that encourage a behavioural and investment shift toward cleaner options; institutions that coordinate action, ensure compliance and link national and local implementation; and infrastructure that enables clean energy, transport and waste systems along with modern and efficient industrial operations.

“Achieving cleaner air will require continued collaboration, sustained financing, and strong implementation at local, national and regional levels. By acting together, governments can follow this pathway to cut pollution, save millions of lives, and deliver cleaner air for all,” said Ann Jeannette Glauber, World Bank Practice Manager for Environment, South Asia.