How Can Law Control Air Pollution?
Air pollution is a global concern, and attempts at using legal procedures to control the menace have spanned across decades. In this post, we will be addressing the topic from an African perspective, using Nigeria as the point of contact.
Based on the World Health Organization’s report in 2015, about 7 million people die from air pollution-related diseases each year. The fate of living humans is quite scary, too. This is because life expectancy is now cut by two.
Yet, 94% of Nigerians are exposed to air pollution daily, with a measure above the WHO guidelines. Air pollution doesn’t affect the health of people, only. It affects the economy, with Nigeria losing about 1% of its Gross National Income to this neglected menace. In the same report, four cities in Nigeria were ranked highest when it comes to pollution. This is not a nation’s goal.
But we know why we made the list. As Africa emerges in technology and industrialization, she pulls air pollution along. And unlike other climes, the continent does not have the requisite technology to deal with the accompanying pollution. The primary cause of this pollution is the reliance on fossil fuels, traffic pollution, and overpopulation.
The 1979 Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution remains the most successful international treaty in the fight against air pollution. The Convention signed by 32 European countries, the United States and Canada, was initially made to tackle acid rain. However, it later included a wide range of environmental issues, with Air pollution at the forefront. Today, over 51 countries worldwide adopt the treaty, which birthed International Environmental law.
Since its inception, the Convention has recorded success in different regions, having reduced toxic waste emission. There’s now cleaner air, healthier forests, soils, and lakes in North America. At the same time, Europe reports that from 1990 to 2012, successful efforts to reduce sulphuric discharges in the atmosphere has stepped up from 40 percent to 80 percent.
The Convention’s success has influenced the enactment of many regional laws aimed at combating air pollution, especially in Africa. For instance, Nigeria has the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Act 2007 as the principal law governing environmental management. The Act makes it unlawful to engage in acts that harm the environment, whether indirectly or directly. Individuals and Corporations are thereby warned against activities that put the health of the society at risk, and to remain compliant with environmental guidelines and permits.
Specifically, Section 7 of the NESREA Act speaks to compliance with environmental laws, both local and international. It directs that environmental sanitation and pollution is prevented and controlled by monitory and regulatory measures. Section 8 (1)(K) empowers the Agency to make and review regulations on air quality and other forms of environmental pollution and sanitation.
Also, Section 27 prohibits the discharge of hazardous substances into the environment. A defaulter pays a fine not exceeding, ₦1,000,000 (One Million Naira) and an imprisonment term of 5 years. For each day a company persists in the violation, there is an additional fine of ₦50,000.
Another law, i.e., the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act 2004, assesses the potential impacts of a proposed project on the natural environment. The Act considers environmental impact in respect of public and private projects. Section 60 outlines the responsibility of any party that contravenes any of the guidelines.
The Harmful Waste (Special Criminal Provisions) Act 2004 prohibits the carrying, dumping, or depositing harmful waste in the air, land, or waters of Nigeria. Violation of the law may be as severe as life imprisonment.
Laws translate the goals of society. Hence, environmental law must play three critical roles in the sustenance of any society. They are to effectively regulate and control natural resources through the provision of appropriate measures. For instance, there should be permits or sanctions, waste disposal regulations, standards of emissions and effluents and resource management laws.
Also, the laws set to protect the environment must contain anticipatory mechanisms to prevent human-made environmental harm. Then, the laws must take into cognizance, trans-boundary causes, and implications of environmental regulations. Thus, developing countries such as Nigeria should guard against a backfire of international agreements on the protection of her ozone layer. This response points to how these countries respond to specific provisions of the agreements that deal with their unique situations.
Meanwhile, the inherent legislations in Nigeria are mostly inadequate. Also, they are out of date. They cannot meet up with the challenges of the current industrialization. Despite the myriad of Environmental statutes imposing strict and stringent penalties on polluters, pollution continues unabated.
One of the issues facing Nigeria and other African countries is implementation. It is one thing to make a law and another to ensure its compliance. More so, while most citizens are ignorant of the Air pollution menace, others remain unaware of these laws. Yet, the government hardly bothers about putting measures in place for awareness or implementation.
Final Thoughts
We have to make drastic moves to ratify, domesticate, and enforce relevant conventions. The country needs to work on the prevention and control of Air pollution. We must hold liable offenders, and compensate air pollution victims, too.
Also, air pollution is a global problem. Therefore, international coordination is imperative to win the fight against it. No one can overemphasize the need for strict implementation of public policies on the prevention of air pollution. We should, therefore, evaluate Environmental assessment reports. It will help reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere. That way, we curb air pollution, and save the future.
