May, 19th 2020

Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development

Bogotá D.C., Colombia

Dear Representative López:

Air pollution is by far the most important way in which the energy systems impacts human health today. According
to the World Health Organization, air pollution is responsible of 7 million of premature deaths every year. Burning
of fossil fuels in Colombia along with the indoor cooking fires in rural areas are the main ways to free pollutants to
the atmosphere. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and CO2 are two important pollutants emitted directly from industrial
activities, specially by the combustion of fossil fuels. Ozone is formed in the atmosphere by the reaction of it
precursors (NOx, CO and Volatile Organic Compounds) with sunlight. Particulate matter (PM) is a very important
air pollutant that can be emitted directly into the environment by diesel engines and it can also be formed in the
atmosphere. According to one of the most influential air pollution epidemiological studies, an increase of PM2.5
exposures of 10 μg/m3 is associated with a decrease in lifespan of 3/4 of a year. Taking into account that most of
the major cities in Colombia have a PM2.5 of 15 to 30 μg/m3, the life expectancy decrease varies from 1.125 to
2.25 years.
In this order of ideas, reducing the air pollutant emissions can bring huge benefits to the country, since they are
responsible of millions of premature deaths every year, the increasing of respiratory and heart diseases and several
environmental problems. According to the IPCC's Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report, the continued emission
of greenhouse gases under Business As Usual scenarios will cause that by the end of this century, carbon dioxide
concentrations in the atmosphere rise more than three times the concentrations of today. As consequence of this,
the global temperature will increase 2°C in 2050 and 4°C in 2100 with the Artic region warming rapidly than the
global mean. Also, the projection of mean sea level rise in 2050 is 0.25 meters and is expected to reach 0.75 meters
in 2100. Changes of precipitation will not be uniform: the high latitudes are likely to experience an increase, while
many mid-latitude and subtropical dry regions will experience a decrease. This has devastating both environmental
and socio-economic effects that extend well beyond an increase in temperature, sea level or precipitation. Energy,
water, transportation, human health, food security, agriculture and ecosystems will have several impacts that will
affect communities around the world.
For this reasons, reducing both CO2 emissions and air pollutants at the same time can be achieved by policies that
promote technological changes in the way energy is produced or used, either by changing the process to reduce the
production of the pollutant or by adding clean up technologies. However, sometimes the reduction of a single
pollutant can exacerbate another one: in some conditions, cutting NOx emissions can actually lead do an increase
in ozone. It is also important to notice that policies can also bring a few unintended consequences. Improving the
technologies used to produce cleaner energy can lead to a rise on energy prices and can cause a huge impact on land
use, since renewables energies have a bigger land footprint. Taking all this into account, I recommend spending 1%
of Colombia´s GDP because the costs of the environmental controls can have a huge impact improving the economy
and maximize long-run economic growth by lowering health care costs, extending the productive lives of the
population and by providing a quality live for everyone.
Sincerely,
María Paula León Cagüeñas
Bogotá, Colombia