CSD Flagship on Air Pollution in Latin America and the Caribbean

preparation

We propose to write a 2027 CSD Flagship (book) on air pollution in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The aim is to lay the foundation for IDBG to take a more deliberative approach to addressing an important but underappreciated problem. After decades of rapid industrialization and motorization, air pollution is urgent problem in LAC. The vast majority of people in the region breathe air that the World Health Organization classifies as unhealthy (Ascencio et al. 2025; Kephart et al. 2023). The effects on human health are grave. Air pollution is the leading external threat to life expectancy in LAC, causing more premature deaths than any other external factor including infectious diseases such HIV/AIDs and malaria, malnutrition, tobacco, traffic accidents, and interpersonal violence (Greenstone et al. 2025). In addition, air pollution has significant adverse 'non-health' effects including on labor productivity and supply, educational performance, crime, and earnings (Aguilar-Gomez et al. 2022). The book will be co-led by CSD and RES. Per the newly the revised AM-331, the approval process will entail review by VPS management, a kickoff meeting to solicit input across the IDBG, and a quality risk review. Chapters of the book will discuss: the extent and severity of air pollution over time and across space; distributional impacts (environmental justice); drivers of air pollution; health and non-health impacts; policy responses, including sector and instrument specific approaches; and limiting exposure by encouraging avoidance behaviors.