Towards election 2024: Political party manifestos pay no attention to air pollution 

Why air pollution matters 

Poor air quality is responsible for 8.1 million deaths annually, according to a recent report on the state of global air. Air pollution is the second risk factor for death globally after high blood pressure.

More than 700,000 deaths in children under the age of five have been linked to air pollution in this report. Noncommunicable diseases like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) account for about 90% of all pollution related deaths globally. 

Air quality within Ghana has worsened in recent years because of rapid economic growth.  Industrial activities, transportation with old vehicles powered by petrol and diesel, and domestic activities like cooking with firewood have been the major contributors of air pollutants within the country.

The number of vehicle owners has increased leading to a worsening of air quality especially in large cities. Concentrations of pollutants such as nitrous oxide (NOx), ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) frequently exceed recommended levels set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This worsening air quality has a direct impact on the health of residents in Ghana. For instance, a report from the Global Burden of Disease study in 2016 suggested that exposure to poor air quality causes about 28,000 premature deaths each year in Ghana.  

Despite its alarming impacts, issues around air pollution and air quality do not find prominence during political campaigns in Ghana. The Movement for Change, New Patriotic Party and National Democratic Congress have launched their manifestos as part of campaigning for the 2024 general elections, scheduled for December 7 in Ghana. In this Article, I take a critical look at these manifestos with regards to promises to reduce air pollution and improve the quality of air Ghanaians breath.  

What the manifestos say about air pollution and air quality 

Manifestos allow political parties to communicate their vision, values, and proposed policies as a means of helping voters understand what the party stands for and what it intends to achieve if elected. Often, issues highlighted in manifestos reflect what the parties consider to be of utmost importance to the development of a country and the well-being of citizens. I have searched through the manifestos launched by the various contenders for the 2024 elections to investigate how often issues of air pollution and air quality were mentioned, and if there are any proposals on how to improve air quality in Ghana. The findings for each party is presented below. 

Movement for Change 

The movement for change, led by Alan Kyeremanten, was the first to launch its manifesto ahead of the 2024 elections. The manifesto, titled The Great Transformation Plan (GTP), promises Stability, Growth, Resilience and Prosperity. This manifesto does not mention air quality or air pollution.  

New Patriotic Party (NPP) 

The New Patriotic Party’s manifesto for election 2024 was launched on Sunday, August 18, 2024. The 260-page document is titled ‘Selfless Leadership, Bold Solutions for Jobs and  Business’. The NPP 2024 manifesto mentions air quality only once, and air pollution also once. Air pollution and air quality are mentioned in the context of existing environmental challenges that require attention in a future Mahamudu Bawumia government. The NPP admits that “The quality of our environment, the integrity of our natural forest, biodiversity landscape, and water resources, as well as quality of air and scenery, have suffered decline over the years”.  However, there are no direct promises or policy initiatives suggested to deal with declining air quality in the manifesto.  

National Democratic Congress (NDC) 

The National Democratic Congress manifesto for election 2024 is titled ‘Resetting Ghana’ and it promises Jobs, Accountability and Prosperity. Air quality is mentioned three times in this manifesto under the theme of sustainable environment and extractive sector management as well as preventing diseases and promoting health and wellness. The 200-page manifesto does not mention air pollution. A future John Mahama presidency promises, among others, to “empower communities, particularly the youth and women, to participate actively in climate protection and air quality initiatives, fostering a culture of sustainability and resilience that will benefit current and future generations”. The NDC also fails to provide specific programmes and initiatives that will ensure reduction in air pollution and improvement in air quality. 

Campaigns to put air pollution on the agenda 

Various campaigns and activities are currently ongoing to increase awareness about air pollution and engage policymakers and political actors on ways to improve air quality for all Ghanaians. The #CleanAirGhana and #CleanAir4All campaign by the GhanaThink Foundation is an example of youth-led initiative to draw attention to the causes and impacts of air pollution as well as solutions to deal with the worsening air quality across the country. Clean Air One Atmosphere, a non-governmental organisation is actively engaged in discussions and advocacy to ensure the passage of a Clean Air Act by the parliament of Ghana. Projects funded by Clean Air Fund in Ghana are also working to understand the causes of air pollution, mitigation measures that could be adopted to reduce pollution levels, and how people could be engaged in these mitigation actions.

Conclusion

All the manifestos reviewed fall short of expectations as far as issues of air pollution and air quality are considered, considering the health, environmental and economic impacts of air pollution in Ghana. It is clear that the parties do not consider air pollution as a major environmental and health risk factor. There are also no specific proposals on how to collect additional data on air pollution levels within the country. No funding is allocated to research on the health and environmental impacts of air pollution in Ghana. No party has indicated clear pathways towards achieving national and international recommended air quality levels in the short to medium term.  

However, it must be noted that the 2024 manifestos are an improvement on the 2020 manifestos as far as air pollution and air quality is concerned. In 2020, there was no mention of air quality or air pollution in either the NPP or NDC manifesto. This indicates a growing awareness of the issue among the political parties.  

It is common practice for politicians to announce policy initiatives and programmes outside of their manifestos. It will be useful for journalists and the public to question leading political figures on their commitments to reduce air pollution whenever the opportunity arises. 

By Dr Frederick Otu Larbi

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