0:00:01.146,0:00:03.944
There is something we desperately need

0:00:03.968,0:00:06.888
that we cannot stop doing:

0:00:06.912,0:00:08.078
it is breathing.

0:00:08.596,0:00:10.210
Do you want to try?

0:00:10.234,0:00:13.002
Why don't we stop breathing together

0:00:13.026,0:00:16.182
for, let's say, even 10 seconds.

0:00:16.206,0:00:17.364
Is that OK?

0:00:17.388,0:00:18.825
Let's do it.

0:00:18.849,0:00:21.421
Get ready ... OK, now!

0:00:39.248,0:00:41.891
Oof, difficult, isn't it?

0:00:42.411,0:00:45.636
Well, this is an incredible number

0:00:45.660,0:00:49.365
that will again take your breath away:

0:00:49.389,0:00:50.601
seven.

0:00:50.625,0:00:51.943
Seven what?

0:00:51.967,0:00:56.053
Seven million premature deaths a year

0:00:56.077,0:01:01.262
caused by exposure to the bad quality[br]of the air we breathe.

0:01:01.741,0:01:06.625
Imagine -- it's like more than[br]the entire population of my dear Madrid

0:01:06.649,0:01:09.888
will be wiped out in one year.

0:01:10.378,0:01:11.620
And you may ask:

0:01:11.644,0:01:14.005
Has this information been disclosed?

0:01:14.029,0:01:18.129
Has this information[br]been publicized, distributed?

0:01:18.153,0:01:19.442
Well, yes.

0:01:19.466,0:01:24.605
We have at the moment[br]more than 70,000 scientific papers

0:01:24.629,0:01:29.919
examining the relationship[br]between air pollution and our health,

0:01:30.689,0:01:34.445
and the global media has been[br]regularly covering this issue.

0:01:35.151,0:01:38.497
In fact, in a relatively[br]short period of time,

0:01:38.521,0:01:40.208
we have come to know

0:01:40.232,0:01:44.250
that air pollution is having[br]a negative impact

0:01:44.274,0:01:48.792
on almost all our major organs.

0:01:49.275,0:01:51.416
Let's start by the lungs.

0:01:51.440,0:01:54.917
When we think about air pollution,[br]we always think about the lungs.

0:01:54.941,0:01:58.561
In fact, every time we take a breath,

0:01:58.585,0:02:02.384
we are inhaling toxic pollutants,

0:02:02.408,0:02:06.704
and our poor pink and lovely lungs

0:02:06.728,0:02:08.584
are suffering all of that.

0:02:10.132,0:02:12.460
Over the last 10 years,

0:02:12.484,0:02:17.006
we have put together a lot of knowledge[br]about what's happened to that,

0:02:17.030,0:02:20.340
but let me tell you first[br]what is air pollution.

0:02:20.890,0:02:24.895
OK, air pollution[br]is a very complex mixture

0:02:24.919,0:02:28.608
of solid particles,

0:02:28.632,0:02:30.504
liquid droplets

0:02:30.528,0:02:32.668
and gaseous chemicals.

0:02:32.692,0:02:34.518
Imagine all of this mixture

0:02:34.542,0:02:40.427
that might come from sources[br]like household fuel burning

0:02:40.451,0:02:42.626
or industry or traffic

0:02:42.650,0:02:46.777
or many other indoor and outdoor sources.

0:02:46.801,0:02:50.700
And, of course, different[br]sources of pollution

0:02:50.724,0:02:54.822
will make different[br]mixtures of pollutants.

0:02:55.512,0:02:58.713
The point is that all of these toxins,

0:02:58.737,0:03:01.120
they can be combined in different ways.

0:03:01.144,0:03:05.650
Let's take, for instance,[br]the particulate matter, the PM.

0:03:05.674,0:03:08.814
It can be a mixture that will include --

0:03:08.838,0:03:10.361
look at the cocktail here --

0:03:10.385,0:03:13.406
soil and road dust,

0:03:13.430,0:03:15.175
sea salt,

0:03:15.199,0:03:16.848
toxic metals,

0:03:16.872,0:03:19.148
diesel smog,

0:03:19.172,0:03:21.414
nitrates and sulfates,

0:03:21.438,0:03:25.584
and all of this toxic poison,[br]this delicious cocktail,

0:03:25.608,0:03:29.227
is going through our lungs every day,

0:03:29.251,0:03:32.097
and we are constantly exposed[br]to this air pollution

0:03:32.121,0:03:34.146
because we cannot stop breathing.

0:03:34.170,0:03:37.679
I mean, we can do it for 10 seconds,[br]but no more than that.

0:03:38.157,0:03:39.780
We cannot stop breathing

0:03:39.804,0:03:41.305
and, in addition,

0:03:41.329,0:03:47.752
we need, every day,[br]around 10,000 liters of air.

0:03:48.688,0:03:51.944
So we said that we have[br]seven million deaths

0:03:51.968,0:03:54.460
caused by air pollution every year.

0:03:54.484,0:03:56.759
Are we panicking?

0:03:56.783,0:03:58.661
Are we keeping calm?

0:03:58.685,0:04:03.745
Are we declaring a national disaster,[br]a global emergency?

0:04:03.769,0:04:08.831
Well, no, and in fact I'm asking myself[br]this question every day:

0:04:08.855,0:04:10.546
What is happening?

0:04:10.570,0:04:17.065
But here is something that maybe[br]will force us to react more quickly.

0:04:17.540,0:04:21.076
Air pollution is not just[br]affecting our lungs.

0:04:21.100,0:04:24.170
It's affecting our brain as well.

0:04:24.194,0:04:25.488
This is our brain.

0:04:26.186,0:04:27.351
Beautiful.

0:04:27.375,0:04:28.655
We all have it.

0:04:28.679,0:04:30.376
We all need it.

0:04:31.063,0:04:33.580
Hopefully, we all use it --

0:04:33.604,0:04:34.673
(Laughter)

0:04:34.697,0:04:36.369
some more than others.

0:04:36.816,0:04:39.730
And in the last 10 years of history,

0:04:39.754,0:04:43.611
the research about the relationship[br]between air pollution

0:04:43.635,0:04:45.284
and our brain's health

0:04:45.308,0:04:47.553
has been increased dramatically,

0:04:47.577,0:04:52.102
so maybe now our brain[br]is going up in smoke.

0:04:52.991,0:04:54.983
But let me tell you the evidence,

0:04:55.007,0:04:58.546
what we know so far[br]about air pollution in our brain.

0:04:59.107,0:05:03.158
First, there is an emerging[br]body of evidence

0:05:03.182,0:05:06.400
regarding the potential harmful effects

0:05:06.424,0:05:07.802
of air pollutants

0:05:07.826,0:05:10.671
into our central nervous system.

0:05:10.695,0:05:13.049
But let's go back to the toxic particles.

0:05:13.073,0:05:14.224
Remember?

0:05:14.248,0:05:15.932
We left them at the lungs,

0:05:15.956,0:05:17.264
enjoying life,

0:05:17.288,0:05:18.901
polluting everything.

0:05:18.925,0:05:20.941
But now the smallest of them,

0:05:20.965,0:05:23.943
they can cross into the bloodstream,

0:05:23.967,0:05:27.290
and from the bloodstream,[br]pumped by the heart,

0:05:27.314,0:05:29.491
they can reach the whole body,

0:05:29.515,0:05:32.110
threatening every organ,

0:05:32.134,0:05:33.826
including the brain.

0:05:34.697,0:05:37.826
We used to say that[br]air pollution has no borders,

0:05:37.850,0:05:40.522
and it's true as well within our bodies,

0:05:40.546,0:05:45.358
because air pollutants will cross[br]the placental barrier

0:05:45.382,0:05:51.954
and reach the fetus and alter[br]the cerebral cortex of our children

0:05:51.978,0:05:56.074
even before they take their first breath.

0:05:57.178,0:06:01.317
Second, several studies have suggested

0:06:01.341,0:06:08.325
that both prenatal and early childhood[br]long-term exposure to air pollution

0:06:08.837,0:06:14.558
will have a negative influence[br]on neural development,

0:06:14.582,0:06:18.884
will have lower cognitive test outcomes,

0:06:18.908,0:06:22.230
and there will be an influence as well,[br]a negative influence,

0:06:22.254,0:06:26.919
on some behavioral disorders like autism

0:06:26.943,0:06:31.529
and attention deficit[br]hyperactivity disorder.

0:06:32.629,0:06:35.371
In addition to that, some evidence found

0:06:35.395,0:06:40.191
that exposing our children's[br]and young adults' brains

0:06:40.215,0:06:43.032
for a long time to particulate matter

0:06:43.056,0:06:48.342
will cause some reactions[br]like brain inflammation,

0:06:48.366,0:06:50.918
altering the neural response

0:06:50.942,0:06:57.912
and [also] leading to the influence[br]of more protein plaques

0:06:57.936,0:06:59.523
that are accumulating,

0:06:59.547,0:07:02.730
and those can increase[br]the risks for diseases

0:07:02.754,0:07:05.704
like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

0:07:06.441,0:07:07.844
Ironic, isn't it:

0:07:07.868,0:07:12.487
we are investing in our children's future,

0:07:12.511,0:07:16.946
we are sending them to school[br]every day to expand their minds,

0:07:16.970,0:07:19.939
the society is investing[br]in their education,

0:07:19.963,0:07:25.394
and yet the air they breathe[br]while waiting for the school bus

0:07:25.418,0:07:30.356
is influencing negatively[br]the development of their brain.

0:07:31.334,0:07:34.839
Let's go to the third: What about adults?

0:07:34.863,0:07:38.106
According to recent scientific evidence,

0:07:39.376,0:07:46.346
long-term exposure to particulate matter[br]will cause a cognitive decline

0:07:46.370,0:07:49.521
in study participants as they age.

0:07:49.545,0:07:50.764
And not only that,

0:07:50.788,0:07:56.160
if you expose them to long-term,[br]very fine particulate matter,

0:07:56.184,0:07:59.582
their brain will age more rapidly,

0:07:59.606,0:08:02.582
and they will have higher odds

0:08:02.606,0:08:07.499
of having small, silent strokes.

0:08:08.326,0:08:10.865
The last one -- and I will not[br]give you more evidence,

0:08:10.889,0:08:12.867
because there is a ton of [it] --

0:08:12.891,0:08:16.237
some epidemiological studies[br]in animal models

0:08:16.261,0:08:21.306
have suggested that there might be[br]an increased risk of dementia

0:08:21.330,0:08:24.438
with sustained exposure to air pollutants.

0:08:25.703,0:08:30.260
So, almost everybody[br]is exposed to air pollution.

0:08:31.114,0:08:35.103
Whether you live in a rural area[br]or an urban area,

0:08:35.127,0:08:39.450
whether you live in a high-income country[br]or a low-income country,

0:08:39.474,0:08:42.779
everybody's brains, including yours,

0:08:42.803,0:08:44.152
are at risk.

0:08:44.659,0:08:46.379
As a medical doctor,

0:08:46.403,0:08:51.418
I have been dedicating[br]the last more than 20 years now

0:08:51.442,0:08:53.208
of my professional life

0:08:53.232,0:08:57.343
to raise awareness about[br]public health issues,

0:08:57.367,0:08:58.804
public health risks,

0:08:58.828,0:09:00.482
at the World Health Organization,

0:09:00.506,0:09:04.852
and I know that the knowledge is there[br]and the solutions as well.

0:09:05.483,0:09:09.380
Sure, some places[br]are more polluted than others,

0:09:09.404,0:09:11.705
but this a global issue,

0:09:11.729,0:09:18.726
and no individual, no city,[br]no group, no country, no region

0:09:18.750,0:09:21.710
will be able to solve it alone.

0:09:22.549,0:09:26.996
We need very strong commitments[br]and very strong action by everyone:

0:09:27.020,0:09:29.394
civil society,

0:09:29.418,0:09:30.901
private sector,

0:09:30.925,0:09:32.194
even individuals.

0:09:32.218,0:09:34.162
We all have a role to play.

0:09:34.186,0:09:38.184
Yes, we need to influence[br]the way we consume,

0:09:38.208,0:09:39.841
the way we commute,

0:09:39.865,0:09:42.501
the way we use our energy.

0:09:43.143,0:09:47.806
And the good thing is that[br]all of those solutions are available.

0:09:47.830,0:09:52.028
The question is, if we postpone[br]action by one day,

0:09:52.052,0:09:55.429
there might be thousands[br]of lives that we will lose,

0:09:55.453,0:09:58.173
but if we postpone it by one year,

0:09:58.197,0:10:02.080
we might be losing again seven million.

0:10:02.762,0:10:07.295
So every policy maker, every politician,

0:10:07.319,0:10:11.723
needs to be aware of[br]the consequences on human health

0:10:11.747,0:10:14.407
of postponing their decisions.

0:10:14.431,0:10:15.757
In fact,

0:10:15.781,0:10:17.907
this is not the first time in history

0:10:17.931,0:10:23.377
that we are confronted[br]with the risks of this invisible killer.

0:10:23.401,0:10:26.512
This was London in 1952,

0:10:26.536,0:10:31.988
and as was done in London[br]in the '50s and the '60s,

0:10:32.774,0:10:35.566
governments and cities,

0:10:35.590,0:10:41.953
they need to take urgent action to stop[br]the terrible impact of air pollution.

0:10:42.816,0:10:48.978
Every politician must know that delaying[br]what they call the tough actions,

0:10:49.002,0:10:55.837
like reducing traffic in cities[br]or investing in public transport

0:10:55.861,0:11:00.864
and engaging in promoting[br]cycling in cities,

0:11:00.888,0:11:03.224
investing in renewable energy,

0:11:03.248,0:11:08.616
promoting cleaner energy[br]for cooking, cooling

0:11:08.640,0:11:11.564
and transportation and heating

0:11:11.588,0:11:15.172
are solutions that are very smart,

0:11:15.196,0:11:19.045
because, in fact, they reduce emissions,

0:11:19.069,0:11:23.349
they improve air quality[br]in line with WHO standards,

0:11:23.373,0:11:26.825
which are the standards[br]that will protect ourselves.

0:11:27.687,0:11:34.657
So in fact, all politicians that we need[br]these very strong political commitments

0:11:34.681,0:11:36.570
and political will from,

0:11:36.594,0:11:38.387
but [we need] all of them now.

0:11:38.387,0:11:42.849
Those who fail, who postpone action,

0:11:43.857,0:11:49.428
they have been requested even[br]to defend their position in court.

0:11:49.452,0:11:50.972
And from now on,

0:11:50.996,0:11:55.873
no politician will be able[br]to say, "I didn't know."

0:11:55.897,0:11:57.479
So the question here is:

0:11:57.503,0:11:58.798
How many lives,

0:11:59.748,0:12:02.475
loss of quality of life

0:12:02.499,0:12:05.028
and losing our brain power

0:12:05.052,0:12:07.136
are we ready to accept?

0:12:07.842,0:12:10.311
If the answer is "none,"

0:12:10.335,0:12:12.147
I will request that you,

0:12:12.171,0:12:16.717
while our brains are still functioning,[br]while we are still intelligent,

0:12:16.741,0:12:21.554
please exercise your right,[br]put pressure on your politicians

0:12:21.578,0:12:25.923
and make sure that they take action[br]to stop the sources of air pollution.

0:12:25.947,0:12:29.067
This is the first thing we need to do[br]to protect yourself

0:12:29.091,0:12:31.880
and to protect our beautiful brain.

0:12:31.904,0:12:33.388
Thank you very much.

0:12:33.921,0:12:37.760
(Applause)