LATIN AMERICA

Vehicle emissions are the most important source of air pollution in Latin American cities. Each year air pollution is causing thousands of premature deaths. Therefore, the World Bank is trying to find out a workable solution to improve air quality in these cities. For this purpose a workshop was also organised by the bank. City managers, development agencies, leaders from public and private sectors and representatives from non-governmental organisations explored ways to improve air quality during the workshop.

The World Bank believes that the cost of improving the quality of air is minimal when compared to the overall gains in public health and productivity. The plans evolved during the workshop concentrated on integration of land use, transport and air quality policies. The workshop aimed to promote the formulation, enhancement and implementation of city-specific action plans. The bank's initiative will initially concentrate on mobile sources of pollution, such as vehicular emissions.