New Air Quality Guidelines "brilliant Opportunity" For Aotearoa

More than 60% of New Zealanders live in locations where air quality does not meet World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, according to modelling conducted by NIWA for the Ministry for the Environment.

The Ministry for the Environment have just released their Our Air 2021 report. Its launch is in response to WHO’s 2021 Global Air Quality Guidelines, which came out last month and provide a benchmark for national air quality standards around the world based on the latest scientific understanding.

"The new WHO guidelines are significantly more stringent than their previous ones from 2005. Places where air quality meets current New Zealand standards - including parts of Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington - are unlikely to meet the new WHO standards, as the basis of New Zealand’s current air quality regulation is over 15 years old." says NIWA air quality scientist Dr Guy Coulson.

"The new WHO guidelines present an opportunity to realign New Zealand air quality management with international best practice, which would result in substantial public health benefits."

He says the new guidelines also emphasise the link between air quality and climate change, offering greater opportunities to link policy in both areas to achieve common goals.

"Many of the pollutants targeted are emitted through burning fossil fuels, meaning that reductions in line with the new WHO guidelines would also help us achieve global climate change goals - and vice versa."

The WHO 2021 Global Air Quality Guidelines were developed in response to a marked increase in evidence for how air quality affects public health, Ministry for the Environment Director, Natural and Built System Water and Land Use Policy, Jo Gascoigne said.

"New Zealand has relatively good air quality compared with many countries, but issues still arise from wood or coal burning during winter and transport emissions in large urban areas. These emissions pose a significant long-term risk to human health.

"The guidelines are a significant development for all countries, including New Zealand - everyone will need to consider what they mean for how we manage air quality. It is a brilliant opportunity for Aotearoa to improve the health of our people and environment," Jo Gascoigne said.

The WHO guidelines are not standards or legally binding criteria. They offer guidance for reducing health impacts of air pollution, based on ongoing expert evaluation of scientific evidence. They recommend air quality levels for six pollutants, where evidence has advanced the most on health effects from exposure. These are particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), ozone (O), nitrogen dioxide (NO) sulphur dioxide (SO) and carbon monoxide (CO).

The WHO has also recommended a series of interim targets aimed at reducing pollution levels over time to help countries meet the new guidelines.

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