‘Coal Couture’ launches at WHO: Children pay for fossil fuel economy
‘Coal Couture’ launches at WHO: Children pay for fossil fuel economy
‘Coal Couture’ launches at WHO: Children pay for fossil fuel economy
New Delhi, 30th October, 2018 : With the kick-off of the first WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health in Geneva from today, the focus on the devastating impacts of air pollution and children’s health remains high. To further highlight the impacts of fossil fuels on children’s health, Health Care Without Harm, an international not-for-profit organization that works to transform the health sector worldwide, has produced an art installation, Coal Couture, by Delhi-based artist, Baaraan Ijlal, launched at the WHO conference in Geneva today.
The installation compiles personal objects of children living in communities near coal-fired power plants in three countries, India, Philippines and South Africa, to tell their stories of loss and health impacts. Ijlal explains, “Coal Couture, is a representation of the carbon intensive, environmentally unsustainable lifestyle modelled on fossil fuel economy. The glass luggage box symbolises a coveted couture object manufactured for the specific requirements of a few. The few with such ownership colonise the lives and natural resources of the rest, represented by the personal belongings of the children living around coal mines.”
WHO’s report, “Air Pollution and Child Health: Prescribing Clean Air”, launched yesterday estimates that 600,000 children died from acute lower respiratory infections caused by polluted air in 2016. Studies prove that burning fossil fuel releases toxic black carbon, fine particulate matter (PM), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), mercury, lead, NOx, SOx and carbon monoxide. For children growing up in communities living near coal-fired power plants, these emissions are lethal. The WHO report explains that since children breathe more rapidly than adults, they absorb more pollutants, making them more vulnerable to such high emission exposure.
The stories of Coal Couture are compiled from some of the most polluted coal mining and industrial neighbourhoods, where children are bearing the cost of this development.
Shweta Narayan from Healthy Energy Initiative India says,
“This conference comes at a time when more than half of our country is choking. Countries like India need to look at the problem of air pollution in a holistic manner which means taking bold initiatives to curb pollution from various sectors like power, transport, waste, mining etc. So far policies around air pollution have been ad hoc, top down and devoid of public participation. For clean air to be a reality, we need public health instead of economics to drive decision making.”
The exhibition is an urge to global representatives collected in Geneva over the next 3 days to pay heed to the fossil fuelled economies in their countries and its deep, irreversible impacts on children. Jennifer Wang from health Care Without Harm says,
“When we think of the future of our planet, do we envision children with inhalers, who are too sick to attend school, who must play in toxic air or not play at all? As health professionals and health advocates, we cannot bear this reality created by our dependence on fossil fuels. We're committed to ensuring vibrant and healthy lives for all by standing up for clean air, renewable energy, and a stable climate."
About Health Care Without Harm:
Health Care Without Harm is an international non-profit organization that seeks to transform health care worldwide so the sector reduces its environmental footprint and becomes a leader in the global movement for environmental health and justice.
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