Jakarta –

Air pollution is a serious problem for Indonesia. This is because several cities in Indonesia have an average annual particulate matter (PM) concentration of 2.5, which exceeds the WHO guideline threshold. PM 2.5 itself is an ultra-fine particle that floats in the air and is very harmful to human respiratory health.

The director of the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), a nonprofit at the University of Chicago, Ken Lee, said Indonesia can take several first steps to reduce air pollution, including setting clear national air quality standards. Indonesia can imitate national standards from other countries that previously applied.

“For PM 2.5, the WHO guidelines for the average annual concentration are 10 micrograms per cubic meter. Not all countries follow WHO guidelines. China’s national standard is 35, India’s national standard is 40, US national standard is 12, and so on, ”he said. Ken in the video uploaded to Air Talk’s Instagram account, accessed on Thursday (09/30/2021).

Ken said it was very important for a country to have a clear average annual concentration. Therefore, he went on, what is required of the accountability of government and regulators, as well as those who cause air pollution.

“The second step Indonesia can take immediately is to improve air quality monitoring at the national level,” he added.

Then, according to Ken, there are many types of measures that the Indonesian government can put in place to address certain sources of pollution, but one source that needs to be addressed is coal-fired power plants.

“The fight against these power plants is also a priority, fossil fuels contribute significantly to fine dust pollution and climate change. To really solve this problem, the government really needs to take these pollution measures, ”he said.

Ken acknowledged that supplying Indonesia with clean air would cost a lot of money. For example, be it investments in local public transport, the removal of heavily polluted end-of-life vehicles from the roads, the reduction of emissions from existing power plants or investments in renewable energies.

“All of these measures to reduce pollution will cost a lot of money. So, for Indonesia, I hope that the cost of all of these pollution reduction measures will bring tremendous benefits as the momentum for concrete policy action builds. “From pollution reduction efforts permanently,” he concluded.

(fdl / fdl)