Our cause
What do we stand for?
The WHO listed climate change and air pollution as the top priorities for global health assistance in 2019. Atmospheric emissions from everyday anthropogenic activities and their consequences for health unify both themes. Due to the urgency of combating emissions to preserve human life, Instituto Ar is committed to defending the health of current and future generations.
Importance
What is air pollution?
Polluted air contains contaminating substances in its composition, including gaseous or liquid components, and solid particles that interfere with human health and well-being or even cause harmful effects on the environment. Some of the pollutants include Carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), ozone (O₃), particulate matter (PM), and black carbon, among others.
What is global warming?
Global warming refers to the increase in the planet’s average global temperature resulting from substances in the atmosphere, whether contaminating or not, gaseous, liquid, or solid particles that raise the temperature – greenhouse gases – responsible for the phenomenon of climate change. They can be long-lived (the most common: carbon dioxide CO₂ and nitrous oxide (N₂O) or short-lived – Short-Lived Climate Pollutants – PCVCs (the main ones: methane (CH₄), ozone (O₃), black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), among others.
What is climate change and what are its effects?
Climate change refers to significant and long-lasting changes in Earth’s weather patterns over time due to temperature increases caused by greenhouse gases. For example, the constant increase in temperature in recent years has changed the hydrological cycle, which, in turn, increases precipitation or causes prolonged periods of drought and, consequently, extreme events such as hurricanes, cyclones, fires, and desertification.
Related effects, such as the increase in infectious diseases, malnutrition, accidents, mental illnesses, deaths, and migration, directly affect the population’s health. Furthermore, climate change poses risks to the integrity of ecosystems and the significant risk of the emergence of unknown diseases.
Why is important to unite the climate and air pollution agenda?
Most anthropogenic pollutants are also greenhouse gases and, therefore, simultaneously contribute to the degradation of air quality and the intensification of global warming, such as Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (PCVCs). Actions to reduce emissions of toxic pollutants, such as short-lived gases, help accelerate the fight against climate change and bring immediate co-benefits to health.
Why is it important to limit the temperature increase?
The increase in temperature is associated with changes in hydrological cycles, climate patterns, ecosystems, and the loss of biodiversity, which, in turn, promote the spread of existing diseases, the emergence of new diseases, and food insecurity. Therefore, limiting the increase in temperature based on international goals and commitments is crucial to protecting people’s health, preserving ecosystems, and preserving wildlife.
What is the need to position health at the center of the climate debate?
The need is due to the risks of illness and threats to human life, as climate change directly impacts public health in various situations. For example, heat waves, one of the effects of climate change, can cause heatstroke, dehydration, and even death. Extreme events also directly affect human physical and mental integrity, as they cause injuries, displacement, and stress.
Changes in hydrological cycles and increased temperatures result in the proliferation of vectors and, therefore, the emergence or increase of infectious diseases. Another health effect that proves the need to include health at the center of the climate debate is the spread of new diseases resulting from the degradation of ecosystems and severe changes in the climate.
What is the importance of instituting international commitments and targets to stop the advance of climate change?
Pollutants in the air can travel thousands of kilometers. They do not recognize borders between municipalities, states, and countries. Thus, they affect people’s health regardless of location, threatening life across the continent. Likewise, climate change and its consequences in a specific region can affect and compromise the existence of different ecosystems in geographically distant areas. In this scenario, there must be international agreements, goals, and efforts to prevent climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.