10 minute read
Middle East and North Africa
BOX 3.16
Egypt During its project to tackle the black-cloud phenomenon caused by burning of crop residues in the Greater Cairo region (discussed in box 3.14), Egypt has recognized that raising awareness about the problem is crucial. The responsible authorities have held more than 1,800 seminars to inform farmers about the adverse effects associated with the practice of agricultural waste burning and how crop residues can be turned into products generating additional income for them (Egypt Today 2020). A recently approved US$200 million World Bank project includes awareness campaigns to better inform the public about the links between air pollution and related diseases. This is seen as crucial to reach a broader audience and maximize the impact of related measures.
Islamic Republic of Iran In Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran, authorities report daily measures of air quality for various locations in the city and disseminate them via different channels, including billboards, mobile phone apps, and websitesa as well as through social media platforms (Heger and Sarraf 2018). The reports provide information on concentrations of PM2.5, NO2, and SO2 on an hourly basis, along with a forecast for the next three days and educational information to increase awareness of the definitions of air quality. Morocco In Morocco, the Qualit’Air program of the Fondation Mohammed VI pour la Protection de L’Environment launched its first driver-awareness campaigns in 2005 to highlight the air pollution caused by vehicles. It has since launched numerous initiatives in cooperation with private companies to educate drivers about global warming and air pollution in a bid to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the development of voluntary carbon-offsetting programs. In 2015, the foundation designed a platform to raise awareness among children about air pollution and global warming and also electrified rural schools with clean energy through the installation of solar panels (FM6E 2016).
Bahrain In 2019, “Beating Air Pollution” was the theme of the United Nations World Environment Day. The “Mask Challenge” that aimed to promote awareness about air pollution has been endorsed by large parts of the population in Bahrain. Companies such as Aluminum Bahrain have publicly announced their support for efforts to tackle air pollution and protect the environment. The Indian embassy in Bahrain also organized a cycling event with the theme “Fight Air Pollution” in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP 2019).
(continued)
BOX 3.16
United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates has developed a color-coded air quality index for public communications, together with guidelines targeted to particular segments of the community that might be vulnerable when pollution rises above certain levels.b It also provides advice on how to contribute to improving air quality, mostly through careful use of energy at home (including use of air conditioning) and with transportation (including vehicle maintenance, use of cleaner fuels, and greater use of public transportation or carpooling).
Policies to reduce energy use include the reduction of fuel subsidies and encouragement of switching to cleaner vehicles, new transportation and industry technologies, public awareness campaigns, and research that includes collaboration between the Environmental Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD), Health Authority – Abu Dhabi (HAAD), academia, and the private sector (Mohamed 2017).
a. For example, see the “Tehran Air Pollution: Real-Time Air Quality Index (AQI),” World Air Quality Index Project website: https://aqicn.org/city/tehran/. b. For more information, see the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) Air Quality Monitoring System platform: https://www.adairquality.ae/#LiveData.
that provides guidance for how individual actions can help reduce air pollution. Furthermore, clear communication campaigns can help foster a broad base of public support for some of the measures undertaken by the government to curb air pollution, reducing backlash against policies that would otherwise be met with discontent.
Awareness programs should identify and explain the various sources of air pollution and the actions an individual can take to combat it. As elaborated in the previous section, air pollutants can stem from different sources, and the general population often lacks knowledge about them. Moreover, even when the public has a sense of where the pollution is coming from, there may be little awareness about what actions an individual can take. Disseminating information about how such individual actions can contribute to increasing air quality is important to give people the sense that each one of them can be part of the solution. Such individual actions include the switch from a personal vehicle to nonmotorized option or public transportation, lowering energy consumption (which in the Middle East and North Africa is mainly derived from fossil fuels) or consumption of goods that are less energy-intensive.
Furthermore, the proper insulation of houses and installation of appliances such as air conditioners with higher efficiency levels would lead to lower energy consumption and leakage in the residential sector, an important point because air conditioning accounts for a large share of consumed energy.30
Proper environmental education early on is an important factor in increasing residents’ engagement with the issues of environmental degradation and air pollution. The integration of environmental issues in the agenda of schools, universities, and other community initiatives in the education sector is important to increase knowledge about environmental issues. This raises awareness for the adverse effects that individual actions also can have on the environment in general and air pollution in particular. There has been progress in integrating the environmental agenda in university curricula in the Arab world (Saab, Badran, and Sadik 2019). However, school curricula, which have the potential to reach a much broader audience, are often outdated, neglecting the effect of climate change. Educating residents about the dangers posed by air pollution and the possible ways to avoid it, can be crucial to effectively address this problem in an inclusive manner.
To raise public awareness about air pollution and its impacts, more initiatives are necessary. Recent efforts by several cities and economies in the Middle East and North Africa are a step in the right direction (box 3.16); however, they should be reinforced to expose air pollution as the threat that it is to the health of the region’s residents. Making people aware of the negative effects of air pollution and how they themselves can contribute to the mitigation of it is important to achieve a broad mobilization and nudge people to change their behavior. As already mentioned, the possibilities to change behavioral patterns is an option to reduce air pollution, cutting across the different sectors and activities that are sources for the degradation of air quality. Governments in the Middle East and North Africa could support initiatives in this area by providing financial resources for them to garner supporters and attention.
The built environment accounts for a substantial share of energy use in the region’s economies. In Egypt, the residential sector accounts for 18 percent of energy consumption and 51 percent of electricity consumption, primarily in lighting and cooling. In Saudi Arabia, cooling accounts for 70 percent of residential electricity consumption, representing around 40 percent of total annual electricity consumption (El Khoury 2012). The greater use of more efficient cooling and mechanical systems, better insulation of buildings, and installation of light-emitting diode (LED)
lightbulbs instead of traditional ones can have a large cumulative effect on energy consumption. Hence, improving energy efficiency in buildings can play an important role in reducing urban air pollution as well as in reducing energy costs for households.
There is scope for increased energy efficiency, but low energy prices do not provide incentives for energy savings. Traditionally, energy subsidies have formed part of the “social contract” in the GCC countries as well as in energy-importing Middle East and North Africa economies, even though better-off residents generally benefited the most. Successful change has been politically challenging and requires careful communications campaigns and targeted social protection measures (Coady, Flamini, and Sears 2015). The reduction in global oil prices in 2014 provided an opportunity for subsidy reduction in many of the region’s economies (Krane and Monaldi 2017).
A recent study estimated the potential for increasing energy efficiency to be an average of 20 percent of primary energy supply in the region’s economies by 2025 (World Bank 2016), with Saudi Arabia alone accounting for over one-third of the potential. There is scope for energy savings in the transportation sector through improved, lower-carbon-emitting public transportation systems and traffic management. All of these improvements will help to improve urban air quality.
Middle East and North Africa economies have recognized this potential and have taken measures to increase energy efficiency in the residential sector. The importance of the residential sector in energy consumption and its inefficiency is being recognized by an increasing number of the region’s governments, and some economies are now making progress toward improving building codes and emissions standards for home appliances to increase energy efficiency in the residential sector (World Bank 2016). Some countries have combined reforms with programs to improve services, as in the case of Egypt, which has supported a large-scale program to help households switch from using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to grid-connected natural gas.31
Morocco pushed for higher efficiency standards as well as thermal efficiency regulations for buildings through its 2014 adopted Réglementation Thermique de Construction (RTCM). Although the regulation is only partially applied, extending its scope and application is the subject of major efforts. Because of its commitment to raising energy efficiency, Morocco received funding totaling €20 million from a program financed by European governments to support the integration of energy-efficiency measures into 12,000 homes during 2021 (Econostrum 2020). Support programs to raise efficiency both at the building stage of
new dwellings and through retrofitting of existing ones is an important precursor that could also form part of COVID-19 recovery strategies. Compared with Morocco’s efforts, the reforms to raise residential energy efficiency were less far-reaching in the GCC countries and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Labeling energy-efficient appliances can help consumers make more informed choices and nudge producers to build more energy-efficient ones. Raising awareness of the importance of energy efficiency to tackle air pollution is essential. One approach to promoting energy efficiency is to introduce obligatory tests and labeling schemes, such as the ones that were implemented or are under way in the GCC countries regarding air conditioners (Andreula 2019). These measures have the dual advantage of raising awareness among consumers about energy inefficiency (via the labeling schemes) and incentivizing producers to invest in the production and distribution of more-efficient appliances (because of demand shifts).
Greening Cities
Greening cities—for example, by increasing the number of public parks and the use of vegetated building roofs and walls—is good for air quality. Increasing the share of vegetation in cities has been found to significantly enhance air quality; its effects have varied with the types of vegetation used. Because some forms of vegetation (for example broad-leaved trees) can trap air pollutants stemming from vehicles, careful impact evaluation of green infrastructure should be performed before its installation to improve the impacts on air quality.
The link between air quality and urban vegetation has been investigated heavily. On open roads, the use of wide and tall vegetation with low porosity leads to downwind pollutant reductions, and low-level green infrastructure such as hedges can improve air quality conditions. Green walls and roofs on buildings (such as cultivation of greenery on them) are also an effective means to reduce air pollution (Abhijith et al. 2017). The potential of greener cities for air pollution abatement has also received some attention in the Middle East and North Africa, with cities increasing their share of green areas.
In addition to decreasing air pollution, green spaces positively affect the general livability of cities and can contribute to mitigating the effects of excessive temperatures. City governments could support the spread of such measures by introducing regulations mandating a minimum share of green area per district or by granting subsidies for newly built buildings that include green infrastructure. Box 3.17 provides an example of the potential for greener spaces in Cairo.
