Environment ministers from about 100 countries gather in Nairobi next week from December 4 to 6 to issue a clarion call against air, land and water pollution blamed for some nine million deaths in 2015.
According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Ministers under the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) will finalise a global declaration vowing to combat “rampant pollution” as a growing threat to human life, economies and ecosystems.
UNEP said seven million of those deaths are caused by car exhaust, factory fumes and indoor cooking. Water pollution is the second deadliest type, followed by exposure to toxins and carcinogens in the workplace.
Last month, UNEP said approximately one in six deaths in 2015 were due to pollution, mainly in poor and developing countries.
The assembly is the highest-level decision-making forum on environmental issues. All 193 UN states are members.
