Global cost of air pollution $2.9 trillion a year, says report
With lot of changes being brought in by smart technology in the past decade, the growth in number of people ordering food online in Oman has seen an increase with more and more people opting to order food online. Oman’s homegrown food delivery apps and ventures initiated by ambitious youth are standing tall with other international players.
Seemingly somewhat similar to the neighbourhood coffee shops delivering food to their loyal clients on motorbikes, food home delivery apps work within a wider network across a large number of restaurants and so does the clientele.
“The sight of bikes of food joints and delivery vehicles of restaurants in front of the houses has become so common and far from surprising, which was not the case some two or three years ago when people would stare at the driver if an unknown vehicle is parked in
PARIS: The global cost of air pollution caused by fossil fuels is $8 billion a day, or roughly 3.3 per cent of the world’s GDP, an environmental research group said on Wednesday.
The findings from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Greenpeace Southeast Asia are the first to assess the global cost of air pollution specifically from burning oil, gas and coal.
“We found that the China Mainland, the United States and India bear the highest costs from fossil fuel
GROWING NUMBERS “We receive more than 2,000 orders in a day against just 200 some two years ago when we launched the app,” said Moosa al Lawati, a young Omani who started the food delivery app ‘Akeed’. Delivery Hero, Talabat, Daleel 1010 are some of the names to reckon with in terms of online and mobile food ordering delivery systems in Oman.
After completing his studies in the United States, Moosa along with his friend Gaurav initiated the project ‘Akeed’ to let their friends in the Sultanate enjoy air pollution worldwide, an estimated $900 billion, $600 billion and $150 billion per year, respectively,” the report said.
Particles thrown off by fossil fuel use account for 4.5 million premature deaths each year around the globe, including 1.8 million in China and a million in India, the researchers found.
The new figure is in line with World Health Organization (WHO) estimates of 4.2 million deaths each year linked to ground-level air pollution, mostly from heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections in children.
“Air pollution from fossil fuels is a threat to our health and our economies that takes millions of lives and costs us trillions of dollars,” said Minwoo Son, clean air campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia.
The global cost for 2018 was $2.9 trillion, the report estimated.
“But this is a problem that we know how to solve: by transitioning to renewable energy sources, phasing out diesel and petrol cars, and building public transport.”
The 44-page report breaks down the global burden of fossil fuel-driven air pollution — measured in economic costs and premature deaths — by type of pollutant and by country.
Each year the global economy takes $350 billion and $380 billion hits from nitrogen dioxide (NO2) — a byproduct of fossil fuel combustion in vehicles and power plants — and ozone, respectively, according to middle-ground estimates.