Griffin Thompson - Indoor & Outdoor Air Pollution

Indoor and Outdoor Air Pollution

Washington, DC
February 28, 2007

Griffin Thompson, Senior Energy Advisor
U.S. Department of State, and Alternate Head of the U.S. Delegation Statement at the Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting (IPM) for the 15th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development during the "Indoor/ Outdoor Air Pollution" Plenary
New York City
February 28, 2007

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

We have heard a refreshing chorus from numerous delegations this week that our most important priority in the remaining three months of this CSD Cycle is to move from words to action.

Continuing with our theme of drawing practical and proven solutions from the CSD Matrix, I'd like to highlight two solutions this morning. Again, these are solutions that have delivered results and can be scaled up and replicated. Both provide concrete examples of how, in this case, paragraph 56 of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) is being translated into action.

JPOI paragraph 56 addresses outdoor and indoor air pollution. Among other things, paragraph 56 calls for "phasing out of lead in gasoline" and efforts to "reduce dependence on traditional fuel sources for cooking and heating, which affect the health of women and children."

Just a few moments ago we heard from the panel member representing IPIECA and ExxonMobil about the good work the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles is doing. It bears repeating.

The UNEP hosted Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles has demonstrated great success in phasing out leaded gasoline. With the assistance of the Partnership and the World Bank, all 49 Sub-Saharan African countries stopped refining and importing leaded gasoline by the end of 2005, positively affecting 733 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This is a perfect example of what it means to translate words to actions. The Partnership has not finished its work however. Partnership members will work with additional countries to eliminate lead by the end of 2007 and their goal is to eliminate lead from gasoline throughout the world by the end of 2008.

In the case of indoor air pollution, a number of governments, NGOs and industry members formed the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air. The Partnership involves comprehensive efforts combining education, technology design, alternative fuels, and fuel use reduction monitoring, and market development activities to disseminate healthier cooking and heating practices.

To date, PCIA's 10 pilot projects have resulted in 278,500 people with reduced exposure to indoor air pollution from home cooking and heating. In addition, over 71,000 households have adopted improved cooking and heating practices in the last 2 years. For example, at the integrated cookstove program in Peru, most houses with improved cooking stoves experienced a 75% drop in indoor CO2 and particulate concentrations.

So, what's the next step? Lessons learned from the 10 pilot projects and related programs will be shared at the 3rd Biennial Partnership for Clean Indoor Air Forum in India next month and other Partnership events year round. Following the completion of the integrated cookstove program in Peru, the Pan American Health Organization and the Peruvian Government are discussing ways to replicate elements of the program in other parts of the country. Germany's GTZ is also exploring replication of the micro-credit scheme in its Bolivia program.

If you are looking to implement JPOI paragraph 56, we urge you to look through the myriad case studies in the Matrix, talk to the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles or the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air, and figure out how you can scale up or replicate these approaches and best practices in your circumstance. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

ENDS

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