Figure 4 Development of
air pollution problems in
cities according to
development status
problems and do not match the defensive expenditure of the highly-developed
countries — and by the year 2015 it is estimated that 8 of the 10 largest
metropolitan areas in the World will be located in the less-developed World;
E in less-developed countries much of the primary energy consumed does not
enter the commercial fuel market and is therefore difficult to estimate;
E the average annual total commercial energy use (1980—98) grew by only 1.7
per cent in high-income countries but by 4.4 and 5.1 per cent, respectively, in
middle-income and low-income countries.
One result of the rapid rate of growth in energy use is that some areas in the
developing world received, for example, wet and dry deposition of sulfur
compounds (mainly from emissions to the atmosphere from fossil fuel combustion)
in 1985 that look very different from those predicted for 2050 (see Section 3,
Figures 15 and 16). Predictions such as these emphasize the necessity for
megacities in the developing World to speed-up the implementation of air
pollution control measures and move from the stabilization of air quality to a
strong improvement phase (Figure 4).
2 Impacts of Air Pollution
The progression of air pollution in different parts of the World has led to policy
initiatives and defensive expenditures as a response to the impacts on the human
and natural environment. Initial policy interventions in Europe were at urban
scale to combat human health impacts (for example, the UK Clean Air Acts of
1956 and 1968) and later efforts have been directed towards reducing the
emissions leading to acidification and eutrophication by long-range transboundary
air pollution, causing impacts far from the sources of pollution. The impacts of
pollution typical of Europe and North America are now being increasingly
observed in low and middle income countries at both local and regional scales.
However, the nature and spectrum of the problems differ between the different
D. Mage, G. Ozolins, P. Peterson, A. Webster, R. Orthofer, V. Vandeweerd and M. Gwynne, Urban
air pollution in megacities of the World. Atmos. Environ., 1996, 30, 681.
A Perspective on Global Air Pollution Problems
25
air pollution problems in
cities according to
development status
problems and do not match the defensive expenditure of the highly-developed
countries — and by the year 2015 it is estimated that 8 of the 10 largest
metropolitan areas in the World will be located in the less-developed World;
E in less-developed countries much of the primary energy consumed does not
enter the commercial fuel market and is therefore difficult to estimate;
E the average annual total commercial energy use (1980—98) grew by only 1.7
per cent in high-income countries but by 4.4 and 5.1 per cent, respectively, in
middle-income and low-income countries.
One result of the rapid rate of growth in energy use is that some areas in the
developing world received, for example, wet and dry deposition of sulfur
compounds (mainly from emissions to the atmosphere from fossil fuel combustion)
in 1985 that look very different from those predicted for 2050 (see Section 3,
Figures 15 and 16). Predictions such as these emphasize the necessity for
megacities in the developing World to speed-up the implementation of air
pollution control measures and move from the stabilization of air quality to a
strong improvement phase (Figure 4).
2 Impacts of Air Pollution
The progression of air pollution in different parts of the World has led to policy
initiatives and defensive expenditures as a response to the impacts on the human
and natural environment. Initial policy interventions in Europe were at urban
scale to combat human health impacts (for example, the UK Clean Air Acts of
1956 and 1968) and later efforts have been directed towards reducing the
emissions leading to acidification and eutrophication by long-range transboundary
air pollution, causing impacts far from the sources of pollution. The impacts of
pollution typical of Europe and North America are now being increasingly
observed in low and middle income countries at both local and regional scales.
However, the nature and spectrum of the problems differ between the different
D. Mage, G. Ozolins, P. Peterson, A. Webster, R. Orthofer, V. Vandeweerd and M. Gwynne, Urban
air pollution in megacities of the World. Atmos. Environ., 1996, 30, 681.
A Perspective on Global Air Pollution Problems
25