GLASGOW — A delegation of moms from Brazil, Britain, India, Nigeria, Poland and South Africa, together with one whose daughter final yr grew to become the first person in Britain to have air pollution officially listed as her cause of death, arrived on the COP26 local weather summit this week with a message to leaders: End the financing of fossil fuels.
On Friday, six moms delivered a letter to Alok Sharma, the president of the Glasgow gathering, by which they known as on world leaders to take motion to restrict air air pollution and shield youngsters who’re battling its results. The letter was signed by practically 500 mother or father teams from 44 nations.
“I am trying to get justice for my daughter,” stated Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, whose 9-year-old daughter suffered a deadly bronchial asthma assault in 2013. Ms. Kissi-Debrah stated that after studying research concerning the risks of air air pollution, she realized that her daughter was not alone.
“This is affecting so many children,” she stated in an interview.
The influence of air air pollution on human well being has develop into a central issue on the summit, as a rising physique of analysis signifies that climate change has exacerbated health risks around the world.
A research revealed this yr within the journal Nature Climate Change discovered that greater than a third of heat-related deaths in lots of components of the world could be attributed to the extra warming associated with climate change. The research was based mostly on local weather modeling in 43 nations.
In addition, drier soil contributes to malnutrition, and warming temperatures have contributed to larger numbers of dengue- and malaria-carrying mosquitoes, research have discovered.
Air air pollution poses one of many largest threats to human well being, in accordance with the World Health Organization. In Delhi, one of the vital polluted cities on the earth, air pollution in 2019 killed more Indians than every other threat issue. Children from poor households, who spend extra time open air and are extra possible to make use of wood-burning stoves, are at a a lot larger threat, in accordance with an investigation by The New York Times.
A W.H.O. report revealed in September discovered that publicity to polluted air causes seven million untimely deaths annually and might result in well being dangers like lowered lung development and performance, respiratory infections and aggravated bronchial asthma. In 2019, greater than 90 p.c of the world’s inhabitants lived in areas the place concentrations of pollution exceeded the W.H.O. pointers.
Kamila Kadzidlowska, an activist from Poland who stated her three sons had respiratory well being issues due to air air pollution, stated that the story of her youngsters was not distinctive.
“It’s the story of most of the parents of small children in Poland,” Ms. Kadzidlowska, who signed the letter to leaders, stated at a New York Times occasion in Glasgow. “I never, ever thought that I would have to fight for something so obvious like the right to breathe clean air.”
