The Cost of Air Pollution in Tehran: $2.6 Billion Annually
Air pollution and closures in megacities continue as the annual damage to each Tehran resident from pollutants amounts to $300, equivalent to one year of subsistence allowance, while pollution-related deaths across Iran total 33,000 people annually.
Shina Ansari, Director General of Environment and Sustainable Development at Tehran Municipality, citing a World Bank report, announced the economic consequences of air pollution for Tehran residents at $2.4 billion. A figure that, based on Tehran’s population of 8.7 million, equals $300 per year. An amount approximately equal to half of the budget allocated in 1398 (2019) for infrastructure projects.
This official’s reminder came on November 13 (22 Aban) at a time when the air quality of the capital or other major Iranian cities had not reached a dangerous level and the stench did not bother Tehran residents. Two years earlier in November, Vahid Hosseini, then CEO of Tehran Air Control Company, had stated that the economic cost of Tehran’s air pollution was 12 to 15 billion tomans; a figure equal to the municipality’s budget.
Scattered studies exist on the economic costs of air pollution in Iran. According to Mohsen Tabatabaei, Secretary of Iran’s Urban Economics Scientific Society, the cost of air pollution in 1391 (2012), based on price realization with inflation rates, was 6 trillion and 670 billion tomans. Alireza Raisi, Deputy Minister of Health and Medical Education of Iran, recently recalled the World Health Organization’s estimate of related economic damages and stated that air pollution affects more than 33,000 deaths annually in the country.
Pollutants; Fuel or Vehicles
The World Bank announced in 2016 that 21,000 people die annually from the effects of pollution in Iran. According to the same bank’s report, the cost of air pollution for the Middle East and North Africa is $9 billion, with the majority affecting Iran and Egypt.
In the latest report by the Parliamentary Research Center, reference was made to statistics from Iran’s Ministry of Health stating that 4 to 5 thousand Tehran residents die annually from inhaling suspended particles.
The simplest explanation for the economic damages resulting from air pollution is reduced production and labor productivity, decline in education and public health, and increased medical costs.
The World Health Organization states that governments are directly responsible for air pollution and must take three urgent steps: creating green belts in city suburbs, stopping the circulation of low-quality and polluting vehicles, and preventing the spread of hazardous gases and controlling factories.
In discussions of air pollution in Iran, emphasis is placed more than anything on fuel quality and vehicle quality. The National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company denies the fuel issue and reminds that trucks, buses, and minibuses that emit fumes consume diesel fuel, and car fuel is standard. The head of the environmental organization accuses automakers, while the secretary of the automakers’ association points to problems caused by sanctions and lack of communication with foreign component manufacturers for sensor standardization.
Many environmental experts believe that Tehran’s air pollution is the result of government mismanagement and industry profiteering.
Source: DW
