Among the six steps included by the World Health Organization (WHO) is to ensure a quick healthy energy transition as part of its manifesto to take for a healthy recovery from Covid-19
Over seven million people a year die from exposure to air pollution where 90 per cent of people breathe outdoor air with pollution levels exceeding WHO air quality guideline values.
Two-thirds of this exposure to outdoor pollution results from the burning of the same fossil fuels that are driving climate change .
The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a manifesto highlighting six steps to take for a healthy recovery from Covid-19 to create a healthier, fairer and greener world while investing to maintain and resuscitating the economy hit by the effects of the pandemic.
One of the steps included in the manifestos includes to ensure a quick healthy energy transition.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), several of the countries that were earliest and hardest hit by Covid-19, such as Italy and Spain, and those that were most successful in controlling the disease, such as South Korea and New Zealand, have put green development alongside health as their Covid-19 recovery strategies.
To ensure a quick and healthy energy transition, WHO recommended a rapid transition away from fossil combustion such as oil, coal and fossil gas for large-scale production and diesel generators for small-scale production.
Apart from that, WHO also recommended increase use of low-emission fuels and energy sources, and renewable combustion-free power sources such as solar or wind.
In addition to that, to ensure the healthy energy transition, it is also recommended to increase reliance on the co-generation of heat and power, and distributed energy generation such as mini-grids and rooftop solar power generation.
Another way to ensure a healthy energy transition for cleaner air is to provide support to employees, communities and industries in transitioning from a carbon-intense to a zero-carbon economy in the form of inclusive participatory decision-making, training programmes, social security schemes, long-term transition plans and financial support.
