Air pollution includes not only gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, sulfur dioxide or carbon monoxide, but also particulate matter produced by factories and power plants, construction and mining, as well as the production of lead and now even plastics (Brahney et. al, 2021). The clean air act targets not only the general population to reduce air pollution they produce, but especially industries such as power plants and facilities. This would help reduce respiratory diseases which has increased in prevalence over the recent years and has become one of the major causes of mortality in the Philippines (Philippine Statistics Authority, 2021; Department of Health, 2013), with 3 of the top 10 leading causes of mortality being respiratory diseases. Improving air quality would also improve living conditions and by creating a healthier population, help improve productivity, reduce medical expenses, and support economic progress.
Unfortunately, implementation in the Philippines will be quite difficult with the country still aiming for industrialization which requires large amounts of energy and materials, along with the drive for urbanization with many infrastructure projects ongoing including road widenings, highway projects, increasing railways, and construction of high-rises in urban centers. This makes it difficult for industries to follow when a paycheck is in front of them. Even for the general population, this is difficult to follow. Though automobile industries have reduced emissions to lessen environmental impact, the significant number of vehicles in the Philippines almost counteracts this, as public transport (in the form of congested jeeps, buses, even tricycles) is difficult and many aim to have their own vehicle instead for convenience and ease. My locality somewhat adheres to this, such as avoidance of pagsiga and banning of dischargers. Apart from these, there isn't much else that limits air pollution in my locality.
Air pollution is overall a systemic issue that requires the cooperation not merely of the people, but especially the government. Improve public transport services, especially railways, to reduce the drive for obtaining their own vehicles, better city planning to promote the use of sidewalks (and again reduce the need for automobiles) as well as better ventilation, invest in sustainable renewable energies to lessen particulate matter from the burning of fossil fuels. Stricter enforcement of air pollution control is also necessary. With the identified presence of microplastics also in the air, better waste management would also help to reduce further increase of particulate matter in the future.
References:
Brahney, J., Mahowald, N., Prank, M., Cornwell, G., Klimont, Z., Matsui, H., & Prather, K. A. (2021). Constraining the atmospheric limb of the plastic cycle. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(16). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2020719118
Department of Health. (2013, December 9). Leading Causes of Mortality | Department of Health website. Retrieved from https://doh.gov.ph/Statistics/Leading-Causes-of-Mortality
Philippine Statistics Authority (2021, August 20). Causes of deaths in the philippines (preliminary): January to june 2021. Retrieved from https://psa.gov.ph/content/causes-deaths-philippines-preliminary-january-june-2021