WEALTH

FOCUS
Compliance has improved and it has become harder to
cheat on air pollution data.”
Others can look to China for guidance on how to
improve, adds Zhang. “India has the worst air pollution in
the world and is at an earlier stage of development, but it
can learn from China.”
The prospect of fewer new coal-fired power stations
across the region than expected, an increase in energy
efficiency and renewable power generation look as though
they could have the potential to meaningfully
reduce the expected rate of growth in
particulate-generating electricity sources. The
rapid uptake of automation may also offer
significant scope to mitigate the effects of poor
air quality and heat stress on workers. Ever
cleaner low- and no-tailpipe emissions
vehicles offer another promising trend.
TALENT WILL FLEE SMOG
A move away from other sources of particulates is urgent,
says Matthew E. Kahn, a professor of economics at the UCLA
Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, and author
of the book Climatopolis. “Particulate matter exposure is
deadly,” he explains. “There needs to be a transition away
from burning low-quality fuels such as wood, dung and
coal, and moving up the energy ladder to natural gas. This
requires major investments in infrastructure.”
» INDIA HAS THE
WORST AIR
POLLUTION IN THE
WORLD «
Turkey’s wider adoption of natural gas highlights the
benefits of such a transition, he says, resulting, for example,
in a significant decrease in the rate of infant mortality.
Asian nations that fail to reverse these trends and to tackle
the effects of a warmer climate will suffer a range of bad
long-term health and economic outcomes.
The most polluted cities and regions will see talent
migrate to places where air quality is better and where the
infrastructure and institutions exist to mitigate the more
extreme air quality and heat problems,
explains Kahn.
“Richer cities have an edge in adapting to
climate change. Singapore, for example, faces
relatively little risk from climate change.
Indoor productive activity is protected from
the heat, due to air conditioning, and much
other natural disaster risk.”
The regions that pursue low-end, poorly regulated
manufacturing, on the other hand, will suffer the most
from these negative trends, says Kahn.
The mobility of talent makes addressing these issues
urgent for every city and region, agrees Zhang. “Air
pollution has already incentivized many rich people to
move countries. The costs of this are tangible. Where
people go, the business goes and so the money goes. This
has a long-term impact. You need a good environment to
attract and keep talent.”
30 • Allianz
Heavy pollution
of Indonesian rivers
from household
waste and industry
threatens the health of
millions of people