Megacities and Air Pollution

The First Ramphal Institute Conference on Megacities and Air Pollution: Report of Proceedings

In September 2018, an international conference on megacities and air pollution was taking place in London. The Conference was held by the Ramphal Institute and supported by Elsevier. Ramphal Institute’s mission is to advance knowledge and education in the Commonwealth in social, economic, governance and environmental areas for the benefit of both the public and policy makers.

The conference was a pioneering exercise to bring together experts from Dhaka, New Delhi, Gauteng, Lagos and London to exchange ideas on how to reduce air pollution. CHEC had the privilege to attend the conference to discuss the matter with experts from around the Commonwealth.

Ramphal Institute has now published a report outlining the outcomes of the conference, read the report here.

The report outlines how air pollution is a worldwide major public health issue. According to the report, air pollution is now one the most significant causes of premature mortality, with an estimated 7 million deaths annually. The issue is vast with 91 % of the world’s urban population now living in areas where the air quality levels exceed World Health Organisation’s limits. There is no questioning about how air pollution is an urgent matter that needs to be addressed both locally and internationally.

#CleanAirForAll

A picture from the conference, where CHEC’s Chairman Mark Robinson and CHEC’s Hon Secretary Eva Ekehorn participated to discuss the issues concerning air pollution in megacities.