A/HRC/40/55 childhood exposure can have lifelong health consequences. Air pollution is the leading risk factor for acute lower respiratory tract infections (e.g. pneumonia) in children under 5.15 34. The elderly in low- and middle-income countries are hit hard by air pollution. Of the total number of healthy years of life lost (disability adjusted life years, or DALY) due to air pollution, one quarter are lost by those over 70 years old. This problem is worsening as the global population ages. 35. Air pollution disproportionately harms poor people and poor communities. The overwhelming majority of illnesses and premature deaths caused by air pollution affect people in low- and middle-income countries. Poverty forces people to use polluting fuels and devices for cooking. Major sources of ambient air pollution, including power plants, factories, incinerators and busy roads, are often located in poor communities. Air pollution plagues low-quality housing, informal or temporary settlements and refugee camps. Poverty also exacerbates the impacts of air pollution through lack of access to information, health care and other resources. 36. As well as environmental injustices within nations, there are widening disparities in air quality between nations. Since 1990, wealthy, less-polluted countries (e.g. Japan, the United States of America and members of the European Union) have seen improvements in air quality while air quality has worsened in some heavily polluted countries (e.g. Bangladesh, India and Pakistan). A recent study estimated that 22 per cent of premature deaths caused by air pollution were linked to international trade, i.e. production of goods destined for export from low- and middle-income nations to wealthy nations.16 For example, air pollution caused by producing goods for consumption in Western Europe and the United States is linked to over 100,000 premature deaths annually in China. D. Impacts on agriculture, biodiversity and ecosystems 37. Some air pollutants have damaging impacts on agricultural productivity. It is estimated that 79−121 million tonnes of crops are lost annually due to ground-level ozone, leading to potential violations of the right to food.17 38. Air pollution has negative impacts on biological diversity and ecosystems. Various air pollutants cause or contribute to acidification of lakes, eutrophication of estuaries and coastal waters and mercury bioaccumulation in aquatic food webs. Terrestrial ecosystems are also damaged by air pollutants, including forests, grasslands and soils. For example, acid rain damages forests. Exposure to ozone lowers the rate of photosynthesis in many plants. Wildlife, from birds to amphibians, also are harmed by air pollution. E. Relationship between air pollution and climate change 39. Greenhouse gas emissions are also a form of air pollution. As the previous mandate holder explained, States have obligations under human rights law to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases and take steps to adapt to climate change (A/HRC/31/52). States are falling far short of the goals they need to meet to avoid catastrophic consequences. 18 40. To a significant extent, many of the same activities that harm air quality also contribute to climate change (A/HRC/32/23, para. 14). This includes combustion in the electricity, industrial, transportation and waste sectors, livestock production and the use of solid fuels for cooking and heating. 15 16 17 18 WHO, Air Pollution and Child Health. Q. Zhang and others, “Transboundary health impacts of transported global air pollution and international trade”, Nature, vol. 543, No. 7647 (30 March 2017), pp. 705–709. F. Sun, D. Yun and X. Yu, “Air pollution, food production and food security: a review from the perspective of food system”, Journal of Integrative Agriculture, vol. 16., No. 12 (December 2017), pp. 2945–2962. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Emissions Gap Report 2018 (Nairobi, 2018). 7