Transport is an important component of economic development and poverty reduction. It is however responsible for about 70% of air pollution in some cities in Asia, and thus a major contributor to health impacts and associated costs. As part of Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Sustainable Transport Initiative (STI), opportunities for external financing of sustainable transport projects are being explored to supplement government policies and development loans/aid.
This study, conducted by the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia)
- Assessed whether it is possible to monetize health benefits resulting from transport intervention measures in urban environments that reduce air pollution
- Determined whether health insurers would be actual beneficiaries through reduced payouts for air pollution related diseases, and whether these cost savings are significant in comparison to incremental costs of transport interventions
- Took also into consideration potential broader financial benefits from such transport interventions for insurers from reduced payouts; society from reduced health costs and other co-benefits benefits from transport interventions such as fuel savings.
- Identified possible schemes through which the incremental investment costs of such intervention measures can be financed, and through which health insurers could be enticed to contribute financially.
The selection of air pollution related illnesses included respiratory infections, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases and trachea/bronchus/lung cancers in general. The study focused on ambient levels of particulate matter, including PM10 and PM2.5, because these are the emissions from the transport sector considered to have large and broad impacts on public health. From 21 Asian countries, three countries were selected, including PR China, Philippines, and Viet Nam. A more detailed case study was conducted for Metro Manila, Philippines, because of readily available data.
A summary of the project report is under preparation and will be published mid 2012
Donor: ADB
Duration: October 2010-Dec 2011
CAI-Asia Contact:
Sophie Punte, sophie(dot)punte(at)cai-asia(dot)org