Eyes on transport, land use as climate change hurts health

Many in Kenya mistakenly view climate change as a remote and foreign phenomenon that should not bother them.

However, recent occurrences including recurrent drought, flooding and outbreaks of diseases such as Rift Valley Fever (RVF) and pneumonia should sound alarm bells on the direct threats of climate change to human health.

A new UN report, COP 24, shows that millions of people around the world die each year due to climate change related impacts, and an additional 250,000 deaths annually are expected to occur between the years 2030 and 2050.

The most direct link between climate change and ill health is air pollution, the UN says, pointing out that burning fossil fuels for power, transport and industry is the main source of the carbon emissions that are driving climate change and a major contributor to air pollution, which every year kills more than seven million people due to exposure at home and outside.

“There is a strong linkage between air pollution, climate change and health and it cannot be missed,” said Maria Neira, the director of Public Health at WHO.

“Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, lung cancer, stroke, those words need to be incorporated in all the documents and decisions made that are related to climate change,” she added.

Separate data by the UN and the Kenya Economic Survey 2018 confirm that air pollution has indeed become a big problem in the country.

An estimated 14,300 Kenyans die annually due to health conditions traceable to indoor air pollution, the most prominent of these being pneumonia.

According to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, pneumonia has recently been the top killer, dislodging malaria, from 2015 to date. In addition, respiratory system ailments are the most common diseases in local health facilities.

The Economic Survey 2018 documents that the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) reported a bump of about 482 per cent in the number of environmental crimes committed from 66 in 2013 to 384 in 2017.

Furthermore, the 2017 Lancet Commission on pollution and health noted that Kenya suffered more than $1.88 billion in welfare damages from ambient and household air pollution, equivalent to about 3.05 per cent of gross national income.

A significant amount of air pollution has been tied to the transport sector, which is heavily reliant on fossil fuel-based vehicles, accounting for 11 per cent of global carbon emissions.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that last year, emissions from the transport industry rose by 460 million tonnes, to hit a record 32.5 gigatonnes. This was because at least 170 million fossil fuel-based cars were added to the global economy.

Compared with other regions, Africa experienced the second highest growth of absolute transport emissions (84 per cent) between years 2000 and 2016, driven primarily by increases in passenger and freight transport activity.

Transport emissions in Sub-Saharan Africa increased 75 per cent from 2000 to 2016 to a level of 156 metric tonnes (Mt) carbon, while transport emissions in Northern Africa increased 95 per cent during the same period, though at a lower absolute level of 135 Mt in 2016.

Total transport carbon emissions increased in major economies of Africa between the years 2000 and 2016, including 161 per cent in Algeria, 153 per cent in Ghana, 123 per cent in Kenya, 73 per cent in Egypt, 40 per cent in South Africa and 19 per cent in Nigeria.

In Algeria and South Africa, per capita emissions increased respectively by 100 per cent and 13 per cent, reaching levels of 1.0 and 0.89 tonnes CO2 per capita in 2016.

“The true cost of climate change is felt in hospitals and in lungs.

“The health burden of polluting energy sources is now so high that moving to cleaner and more sustainable choices for energy supply, transport and food systems effectively pays for itself,” says Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health.

“When health is taken into account, climate change mitigation is an opportunity, not a cost.”

Private vehicles are the main means of transport worldwide, and the vast majority run on petrol or diesel, which contributes to poor air quality, and health impacts, particularly in cities.

“Increasing the use of public transport can significantly reduce GHG emissions and air pollution, by reducing emissions per person. Public transport run on clean fuels or electricity is associated with further health gains, decreasing cardiovascular and respiratory disease, traffic injuries and noise-related stress and associated mental health issues due to high-volume traffic,” the UN says.

“Encouraging active transport, particularly for short distances in cities, has the widest range of benefits for health and climate mitigation. It reduces not only air pollution but also sedentary lifestyles and may thus prevent some cancers, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and obesity, which are increasing rapidly in rich and poor countries alike: an estimated 3.2 million people die every year from diseases associated with physical inactivity” it added.

The threats of climate change on health in Kenya, however, doesn’t stop at lung diseases and is also linked to the spread and recurrence of other ailments such as malaria and diarrhea.

Studies on the effect of climate change on health in Kenya also reported emergence and re-emergence of Rift Valley fever, leishmaniasis and malnutrition.

Kenya is already reporting changes in the prevalence of malaria around the country, with the disease increasingly moving into the highland areas, places it was never reported before.

Approximately 13 to 20 million Kenyans are reported to be at risk of malaria, with the percentage at risk potentially increasing as climate change facilitates the movement of malaria transmission up the highlands.

The global food production system is having an impact on human health amid rising cases of pollution.

Estimates by the UN showed that the global food production is a major source of soil and water pollution and uses more than 70 per cent of all fresh water and 40 per cent of land.

Most emissions are due to deforestation and livestock, soil and nutrient management.

“More sustainable, regenerative agricultural practices could not only reduce GHG emissions but also sequester carbon and protect and enhance biodiversity, soils, watersheds and broader ecosystem services,” it said.