Carolin Geginat: Armenia ranks 22nd for air pollution

ArmInfo. Armenia ranks 22nd in terms of air pollution, and this has its price and involves corresponding costs. Carolin Geginat, the Country Manager of the World Bank (WB) for Armenia stated during a meeting organized on the theme "Green Armenia" on the initiative of the WB, EU and UNDP (United Nations Development Program), chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan.

The main purpose of the event was to discuss issues related to improving the quality of atmospheric air in Armenia, including the development of appropriate strategies and modern monitoring systems.

Referring to recent World Bank research, Geginat  noted that the costs associated with addressing fine particle air pollution (PM2.5) problems in Armenia are about 10.6% of GDP, while in Europe the average is 3.8%.  She stressed that, realizing the relevance of the agenda, the Armenian government recently adopted a law "On the Protection of Atmospheric Air". <We call on the government to accelerate the application of the provisions of this law to improve the life and health of all Armenians>, the WB Country Manager  aid.