The environment problems in China arose not only because of the industrialization and urbanization, but also due to ecological deterioration resulting from poverty. Such environmental deterioration problems became very complicated and hard to deal with because of the multiplicity of the sources of environmental pressures.

The effects of both ambient air pollution and socioeconomic position (SEP) on health are well documented. A limited number of recent studies suggest that SEP may itself play a role in the epidemiology of disease and death associated with exposure to air pollution. Together with evidence that poor and working-class communities are often more exposed to air pollution, these studies have stimulated discussion among scientists, policy makers, and the public about the differential distribution of the health impacts from air pollution.

This study assesses whether deprived populations living close to industry experience greater mortality from lung cancer than populations with comparable socioeconomic characteristics living farther away. Mortality data, census data, a postal survey of living circumstances, historic and contemporary data on air quality and a historic land-use survey were used. Analysis was based on two conurbations in England, Teesside and Sunderland.

Persons with lower socioeconomic status (SES) may face higher risk from polluted air. This disproportionate burden may result from elevated exposure, due to proximity to roadways or indoor air pollution from burning of biomass, and from differences in nutrition and access to health care, among other factors.

This video shows how a micro-finance support (Trike Fund) has helped tricycle drivers and operators adopt new and more efficient technologies to reduce air pollution from tricycles and provided initial capital for the development of other livelihood activities. This activity is part of the project, Air and Noise Pollution Reduction Strategies for the Tricycle Subsector, funded under the Asian Development Bank's Poverty and Environment Program.

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This research seeks to analyze the economic and poverty effects of the Philippine government’s ratification of the Kyoto protocol. Since the country is currently implementing the fourth phase of its trade reform program (TRP), and is in the process of drafting a greenhouse gas national action plan (GHG-NAP), this study through an economy-wide model attempts to assess the linkage between tariff reduction, carbon emissions, and poverty.

This is important as projections indicate that future economic activity will largely be dependent on fossil fuels. The proposed methodology is to conduct policy simulations using a computable general equilibrium (CGE) micro-simulation model to analyze the economic and poverty effects of restraining carbon emissions during the ongoing trade liberalization process.

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The flexible instrument of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol envisages to, aid “environmentally friendly” development in developing countries, contribute to the twin objective of “cleaner environment” for the world and “sustainable development” for the developing countries. The contribution to the sustainable development of the host country being an important objective of CDM, the assessment of this recent International Climate Policy instrument from the development perspective becomes an important issue.

The Marrakech Accord does not provide any standardized guidelines for the sustainable development criterion and leaves it entirely to the host party’s prerogative to decide whether a CDM project activity assists it in achieving sustainable development. Thus, the criterion vary across countries, however, there are commonalities and they typically include: (1) social criterion, such as, improving quality of life, poverty alleviation and ensuring equity; (2) economic criterion, such as, contribution to local economic development and technology transfer; (3) environmental criterion, such as, reducing fossil fuel use, energy conservation, improvement of local environment and health, and consistency with the national energy and environmental policy.

India is perceived to be one of the most attractive Non-Annexure I countries for CDM project development on account of its large green house gas (GHG) reduction potential, acceptable investment climate and strong CDM related organizational apparatus. The country is one of the five fastest developing countries in the world but, with about 287 million people below poverty line, the dimensions of poverty in India are appalling. Poverty alleviation is therefore, the major development objective in the national planning in the country. Various policies and programs to alleviate poverty form an integral part of the development strategy in the country. India aims to reduce poverty ratio by 15 percentage points from the current level of nearly 30 percent to meet the Millennium Development Goal.

This paper seeks to examine whether CDM can emerge as an important development strategy to dent poverty in India. The study focuses specifically on rural poverty, due to higher incidence of rural poverty in India and urban poverty being largely, a spill-over of rural poverty. The sustainable development commitment of the CDM projects as specified in their Project Design Document (PDD) are examined for their effectiveness to alleviate poverty in light of the empirical evidence on the factors, policies & strategies that have been instrumental, in the past, in decreasing rural poverty in India.

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Under the regime of the Kyoto Protocol, the CDM through its window for ‘reforestation’ projects can facilitate the transformation of lands that were deforested before 1990 into tree-based land use systems. However, any proposed application of the mechanism will have to ensure additionality (increases of carbon stock in the accounting area due to the CDM intervention over and above what would be expected for a location-specific baseline) and account for leakage (negative effects on carbon stocks outside of the accounting area that are causally linked to the CDM intervention). Furthermore, the mechanism will also have to qualify as ‘development’, by providing positive socio-economic impacts for the local community by alleviating poverty in the landscape.

A direct consequence of the multiple administrative requirements that follow from these concerns, however, are the substantial ‘transaction costs’ (Cacho et al. 2002; Cacho et al. 2003; Cacho 2006). A specific issue derives from the confounding of ‘leakage’ and ‘additionality’. The use of nearby ‘control’ areas for appraising additionality assumes that leakage is negligible, while their use for quantification of ‘leakage’ assumes the absence of spontaneous change.

As the multiple drivers of land use and land cover change are hard to predict, the ex ante impact appraisal of carbon sequestration projects is difficult and the economic value on the global carbon market only applies to ‘certified emission reduction’ statements, after the fact. The procedures before the start of a project thus include substantial risks to all parties involved, translated to further transaction costs.

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http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org

Can the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) bring local sustainable development benefits to low-income communities? CDM carbon forest projects may displace local peoples; plantations may cause environmental damage. But ‘win-win’ outcomes addressing both carbon emissions reductions and poverty alleviation may exist. Empirical findings from Brazil and Bolivia illustrate that pilot schemes had only limited sustainable development benefits.

Top-down and with inadequate local stakeholder participation, they faced a number of barriers to sustainability. But they offered valuable learning opportunities, insights for future projects. Guidelines are offered for integrating socio-economic concerns in global environmental projects.

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Forty-nine experts from 18 industrial and developing countries met on 6 September 2001 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, to discuss the economic and public health impacts of air pollution particularly with respect to assessing the public health benefits from technologies and policies that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Such measures would provide immediate public health benefits, such as reduced premature mortality and chronic morbidity, though improved local air quality. These mitigation strategies also allow long, term goals--for example, reducing the buildup of GHG emissions--to be achieved alongside short-term aims, such as immediate improvements, in air quality, and therefore benefits to public health.

The workshop aimed to foster research partnerships by improving collaboration and communication among various agencies and researchers; providing a forum for presentations by sponsoring agencies and researchers regarding research efforts and agency activities; identifying key issues, knowledge gaps, methodological shortcomings, and research needs; and recommending activities and initiatives for research collaboration, and communication. This workshop summary briefly describing presentations made by workshop participants and the conclusions or, three separate working groups: economics, benefits transfer, and indoor air quality issues and susceptible populations; and development and transfer of dose-response relationships and exposure models in developing countries.

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