Respiratory Wellness Initiative

The aim of the initiative is to bring attention to the need for a healthier environment that will improve the quality of the air we breathe. It’s about respiratory hygiene and wellness. It will also mobilize the rapidly growing movement of health and wellness professionals around the world who are now driving ambitious climate action.

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Initiative Leadership

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Objectives

This initiative examines the link between climate change, air quality, and respiratory wellness and aims to educate and mobilize people and communities to reduce the impact air pollution and climate change have on our health and well-being.

Nearly everyone is impacted by the quality of the air we breathe—both indoors and outdoors. We may not always see it, but air quality is the silent cause of some of our most common respiratory illnesses. The air we breathe doesn’t just impact our health; it impacts our climate’s health, too.

Over 90% of the world’s urban population breathes air containing levels of pollutants that exceed the World Health Organization’s guidelines. Two-thirds of this exposure to outdoor pollution results from the burning of fossil fuels that drive climate change. A warming climate will worsen air quality. If current emissions continue, ground-level ozone events are expected to intensify, especially in densely populated areas, leading to more respiratory illness. In certain areas, the frequency and extent of wildfires – and with them, emissions of particulate matter and other pollutants – are projected to increase. Concerted action is therefore required at all levels. Growing public awareness of the health burden associated with air pollution could be the catalyst for collective ambition to mitigate climate change. Greater coordination among the health, energy, transport, agriculture, and urban planning sectors will be necessary to set priorities that ensure maximum benefits for both health and climate.

The Respiratory Wellness Initiative is a collaborative global effort working towards protecting our environment to create a sustainable, healthier future for all of us.

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