Join expert speakers from UNEP Regional Office for North America, The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health and WRI for a conversation on how transparent, accountable governance can accelerate cleanup efforts around the world.

Watch on Facebook

Hashtag: #BeatPollution

Pollution kills more people each year than all war and violence in the world — more than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. Nearly 92% of these deaths occur in low-income and middle-income countries, disproportionately impacting poor communities who depend most on the health of their environment. Hazardous chemicals leach into the groundwater they drink, toxic sludge flows untreated into the waterways they fish, and noxious fumes from nearby industrial plants seep into the air they breathe. Failure to act not only threatens their lives and livelihoods, but it also costs the world $4.6 trillion per year.

Yet those who pay the price of rising pollution are often unable to stop it. Weak laws, ineffective regulations and poor enforcement are commonplace around the world. A lack of information is also a key part of the problem, handicapping local communities’ attempts to take matters into their own hands. They cannot spearhead local cleanup efforts, push their governments to enforce regulations or seek redress from polluting industries.

Join newly appointed Regional Director for United Nations Environment Programme’s North America Office Barbara Hendrie, Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health author Karti Sandilya and environmental democracy specialist Elizabeth Moses for a discussion on pollution, poverty and social accountability. Together, they will highlight steps — from improving access to environmental information to building judiciary capacity to enforce pollution regulations — that governments, civil society leaders and people around the world can take to tackle pollution.

Speakers

Barbara Hendrie, Director, North America Office, United Nations Environment Programme

Karti Sandilya, Senior Advisor, Pure Earth and Author, The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health

Elizabeth Moses, Research Analyst II, Environmental Democracy, World Resources Institute

Moderated by Mark Robinson, Global Director, Governance, World Resources Institute

About the Series

WRI’s Greening Governance Seminar Series explores how good governance – inclusive, transparent decision-making processes, equal access to justice, strong institutions and a vibrant civil society – not only help policymakers advance more effective, equitable policies, but also implement ambitious commitments like the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.

Greening Governance seminars bring diverse panels of experts together to grapple with tough questions and identify successful strategies at the intersection of governance, environmental sustainability and human well-being. Interested in attending or watching remotely? Subscribe to our Greening Governance newsletter and follow us on Twitter to stay updated on upcoming events.