A modest proposal for solving the air pollution crisis: a worker smog bonus

We are all aware of the value of clean skies and the costs of pollution, so isn’t it time to put more economic pressure on governments and companies to clean up?

I first considered the potential for a smog allowance while I lived in Beijing (my heavily polluted home from 2003-2012) and the idea only strengthened after I moved under the mostly blue heavens of Rio (2012-2017).

My experience of these two very different cities confirms what ought to be blindingly apparent: that quality of life gets a big boost when you do not have to worry about what you breathe. This should be reflected in salaries and taxes.

Companies should be obliged to pay more to workers who cannot rely on a healthy oxygen supply. This would give them an incentive to clean up their own acts and to put pressure on neighbouring firms and hosting municipalities to tackle wider sources of pollution, such as traffic, factories, building sites and coal or wood-burning stoves and barbecues.

For the worker, the extra income could offset both the short-term cost of air-purifiers and face masks – if that is an option – and the long-term risks of asthma and bronchial disease (both of which I suffered in Beijing). It would also serve as a form of family compensation for particularly polluted days when children are told they must not go out at playtime and adults have to skip plans to go jogging or hiking - a frequent concern when I was living in Beijing, though not once an issue in Rio.

Source: theguardian