Increased Gas Use Improves Air Quality: IGU Report
The International Gas Union (IGU) published a report on December 11, showing how the greater use of gas in industry, power generation, heating and transport could improve air quality in cities significantly.
The 2019 Urban Air Quality report used London, the Colombian capital of Bogota and the Indian town of Morbi as case studies. It called for increased fuel switching, prudent approaches to pricing environmental externalities such as carbon emissions, policies enabling access to gas, more use of non-polluting renewable energies and improved combustion and end-use energy efficiency.
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According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), air pollution kills 7mn people each year, costing economies trillions of dollars in health, welfare and productivity losses.
“It is a very real and very dangerous issue that was responsible for some 12.5% of 2017 deaths in India, and it has to be addressed with the highest sense of urgency by authorities,” the IGU said. “The 2019 Urban Air Quality report showcases three great cases of how that can be done, using natural gas as an effective tool for cleaning up the air. It is a formidable challenge, but not one that good governance, prudent policy, and a well-planned multi-stakeholder approach cannot solve.”