Transport: sectoral solutions for air pollution and health

Overview

Globally, transport is an important source of air pollution and generates the fourth largest share of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While the growth of global GHG emissions in other sectors such as energy supply and industry is slowing down, those from transport remain unchanged.

Transport-related air pollution is a complex mixture of gases and particles resulting from motor vehicle emissions, including both exhaust and non-exhaust sources such as road dust or brake and tyre wear. Strong evidence links transport-related air pollution (TRAP) to early death due to cardiovascular diseases, asthma in children and adults, and other adverse health outcomes.

Transport -  sectoral solutions for air pollution and health highlights this issue of transportation as a source of ambient air pollution and the implications on health. The technical brief summarizes progress to date, success stories of transport policies for health and way forward to address the health impacts of this source of air pollution.

This document is part of the WHO Air Quality, Energy, and Health Science and Policy Summaries (SPS). These summaries provide concise overviews of current knowledge and evidence on air quality, energy access, climate change, and health. They aim to support decision-makers by presenting key insights from scientific research.

The SPS are developed through a multistakeholder consultation process that includes experts from WHO Advisory Groups – i.e., the Scientific Advisory Group on Air Pollution and Health (SAG), and the Global Air Pollution and Health – Technical Advisory Group (GAPH-TAG) – as well as specialists from WHO Collaborating Centres, UN agencies as well as other experts from academia and civil society.

All Science and Policy Summaries can be accessed here