An increase in microparticles in the atmosphere, attributed to a large extent to traffic, is associated with a decrease in work productivity, according to an OECD study published when several European countries question the low emissions areas (ZBE) recommended by the EU.
In the report published Thursday, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) pointed out that the productivity drop in workers exposed to PM2.5 microparticles (very common and especially harmful) It is because they can cause “failures in the cognitive process due to reduction of blood flow and cell oxygenation.”
“The analysis shows that an increase of 1 microgram per cubic meter in PM2.5 concentrations (…) Causes a 0.55% reduction in labor productivity, ”says the document, which uses data of 2.5 million companies that operated in Europe between 2000 and 2022.
It is a significant impact if one takes into account that in the decade between 2010 and 2019 the average growth of labor productivity per person in Europe was 0.75%. The authors chose 1 microgram per cubic meter as a reference because it is the most common annual increase or average decrease between 2000 and 2022.
The study also highlights that, in the 2010-2019 decade, the improvements of atmospheric quality in the EU can explain a third of the growth of labor productivity in the community club.
You may be interested: The luxury sector deposits their hopes in the Middle East despite the shadows of the conflict
Among the companies with the most affected workers, are those of the construction, those of the sectors that use a greater proportion of highly qualified and medium workers.
The north of Spain, from Italy and parts of central and eastern Europe are the ones that have benefited the most from that dynamic after registering the reductions of “more significant” microparticles in the community zone.
Therefore, the OECD stressed that it is important that EU countries commit to continue reducing emissions (those of PM2.5 They have dropped from an average of 16.5 µg/m3 in 2000 to 12.7 µg/m3 in 2022) following European directives on air quality approved in 2024, which have to be fulfilled until 2030.
One of the devices already launched for air improvement has been the implementation in cities of the so -called low emissions (ZBE) areas, which drastically prohibit or limit the passage of the most polluting vehicles in the cities.
However, in countries such as Spain or France, several political parties – from the ultra -right to the radical left – have opposed the Zbe.
In France, in a vote in the National Assembly last May, they managed to repeal the law approved in 2018, arguing that it was discriminatory with households with less purchasing power, since they do not have the economic means to acquire less polluting vehicles.
With EFE information.
Follow us on Google News to always keep you informed
