00:04Air pollution é o maior problema do nosso tempo.
00:12Sipes carrying most of the world's trade
00:14and the fuels they burn release pollutants
00:17that can travel far inland.
00:18That's a major source of air pollution.
00:21In this episode of Earth Now, I'm in Turkey
00:23where shipbuilders are developing cleaner ways
00:25to build and power vessels.
00:27Then, we travel to landlocked Uzbekistan
00:30where the government is fitting filters
00:32and real-time monitors to factories
00:34and backing a national plan to clean up the air.
00:37This tug built in Turkey runs on batteries alone.
00:40The country's shipbuilders say it was the world's first zero-emission tug
00:43and that they now run the largest fleet of electric tugs anywhere.
00:47In fact, we are always discussing about decarbonisation
00:51but sometimes we are missing the air pollution site.
00:54Our intention is we are living in a community in Tuzla region,
00:58in shipyard region,
00:59so we don't want to emit carbon dioxide
01:03and also we don't want to,
01:05in fact, we don't want particulate matter.
01:07So we found the solution in Turkey
01:10in order to make our air clean.
01:13It's very important
01:14because the vast majority of the pores
01:16are inside the cities,
01:18so these are also very important for the community health.
01:22Tugs, ferries and pilot boats
01:24work close to shore in almost every country.
01:26Turkey's shipbuilders say they are too often overlooked.
01:29In fact, all these ships are global ships
01:33because all over the world
01:34every country has some kind of ships,
01:37tug boats, pilot boats, small vessels, ferries.
01:40In fact, the community really focused on ocean-going bigger ships
01:44but there is a missing part.
01:47But before we started, it's not a proven technology
01:49but now we can say that,
01:51yes, we can electrify tug boats
01:53and also some ferries and some other small boats
01:57for avoid from the carbon emissions,
02:00avoid from air pollution.
02:02The technology is proven, she says.
02:05Paying for it is harder.
02:06The private sector has some abilities
02:10but unfortunately, there should be a finance mechanism
02:13in order to support this transition
02:15from conventional vessels
02:16to alternative fuels, battery vehicles
02:19and other wind-assisted propulsion systems.
02:22Changing in industry also means
02:24changing how the next generation is trained.
02:26At Turkey's specialist maritime university,
02:29environmental courses are now part of the teaching.
02:31So we have Black Sea, Marmara Sea,
02:34agency and militarian sea.
02:38So the maritime industry is important for Turkey.
02:41The maritime industry is huge globally.
02:45So what we teach to our students
02:48is not important just for them
02:50but also the whole world.
02:52Turkey is helping to find the solution
02:55of air pollution in maritime industry.
02:58We are naturing the future
03:00so we see AI as a powerful tool
03:03to solve these environmental problems
03:06and we teach our students in that way.
03:10Cleaner ships are one part of the answer.
03:12Knowing what is in the air is another.
03:15Professor at Samson University
03:16says it starts with health.
03:18It matters because this air pollution
03:21is a health method for people,
03:24especially for respiratory problems
03:26and of course some asthma
03:28and some other cardiac problems
03:30can happen with this air pollution.
03:32This air pollution is a global issue,
03:34not a local issue
03:34because wind blows
03:35and when the pollutants take from somewhere,
03:38it takes even from 100 and 100 kilometers,
03:40sometimes thousands it takes.
03:42So it's a global phenomenon,
03:44not a local.
03:45Back in the shipyards,
03:47the industry says its technology
03:48is ready for others to use.
03:49So we are always open
03:52any kind of cooperation
03:53to make the world
03:55more cleaner and safer.
03:57That's all from Turkey.
03:59Electric tugs are one way
04:00to cut emissions at sea,
04:02but for millions of people,
04:03the air they breathe
04:04is shaped by what happens closer to home.
04:06We now head to Uzbekistan,
04:08where their focus moves
04:10from the sea to the factory floor
04:11and the government is pushing industry
04:13to clean up what it releases.
04:16Air pollution is a challenge
04:17in several parts of Uzbekistan.
04:20Official assessments record periods
04:22of pollution above established standards
04:24in Tashkent, Navoyi,
04:25Perigana, Cherchuk and Termes.
04:28Industry heating and traffic
04:29all contribute,
04:30alongside dust and weather conditions.
04:33A World Bank assessment
04:35published in 2024
04:36found PM2.5 levels in Tashkent
04:39well above the World Health Organization guideline.
04:43In late 2025,
04:45Uzbekistan stepped up
04:46its response.
04:48A source is increased
04:49inspections of factories,
04:50heating facilities,
04:52construction sites
04:53and greenhouses
04:54around Tashkent.
04:55But not all of the pollution
04:57comes from sources
04:58as sources can directly control.
05:17Other sources can be tackled closer
05:19to where emissions are produced.
05:21At this automotive engine plant
05:23in Tashkent,
05:24pollution control begins
05:25before emissions leave the factory.
05:28We have installed
05:30air treatment plant
05:31like scrubber,
05:33wet scrubber,
05:35filters,
05:37bag filters
05:38in order to reduce emission
05:41which goes to the air.
05:43This year we installed
05:44air,
05:45automotive air monitoring station
05:47for dust monitoring.
05:49There are two different jobs
05:51happening here.
05:52A equipment like this
05:53is designed to remove pollutant
05:55from the air produced
05:56by the factory,
05:57the monitoring system
05:58that measures what remains
05:59before the emissions
06:00reach the atmosphere.
06:02In March,
06:03the response was expanded
06:04into the nationwide
06:05Clean Air Project
06:06for 2026 to 2030.
06:09The program targets
06:10a 10.5% cut
06:12in overall emissions
06:13by 2030
06:14and a 10% reduction
06:16from transport.
06:17But emissions alone
06:18on the not-determined
06:19pollution levels.
06:44Uzbekistan is also
06:46expanding the network
06:47used to track pollution
06:49from industrial sources.
07:17The center monitors
07:18the data around the clock
07:20and can dispatch inspectors
07:21if limits are exceeded.
07:23One monitoring station
07:24can tell us
07:25what is happening here.
07:27A network of them
07:28can begin to show
07:28how air pollution moves
07:30across an entire city,
07:31where it rises,
07:32when it falls
07:33and where people
07:34may be most exposed.
07:37From the shipyards of Turkey
07:39to the factories
07:39of Uzbekistan,
07:40the push for cleaner air
07:42is gathering pace.
07:43The real measure
07:44of success
07:45will be in the air
07:46people breathe
07:47in the years ahead.
07:48That's all for this episode
07:50of Earth Now.
07:51See you next time.
