Circular Economy and Pollution Management

Industrialization, agrochemical use, urbanization, forest fires, burning biomass for residential heating and cooking, and poor waste management have intensified environmental health risks, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The most vulnerable populations, least able to protect themselves, bear the greatest burden.

Exposure to air and water pollution, hazardous chemicals, and toxic wastes such as mercury, lead, and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) causes debilitating and fatal illnesses, premature deaths, and ecosystem loss. Pollution, from all sources, is now the largest environmental cause of disease and early mortality, killing more people each year than AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined.

Poor outdoor air quality is now the second-leading cause of premature death worldwide after cardiovascular disease. Recent World Bank analysis estimated that 2.3 billion people are exposed to outdoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels above 35 µg/m³, resulting in more than 5.7 million deaths annually and economic costs approaching 5% of global GDP.

Chemical pollution is equally devastating. In 2019, lead exposure caused an estimated 5.5 million deaths from cardiovascular disease, 90% of them in low- and middle-income countries. In the same year, children under five lost 765 million IQ points globally, undermining education outcomes and human capital. The global economic cost of lead exposure alone is estimated at $6 trillion annually, or nearly 6.9% of global GDP.

At the same time, the intensive consumption of materials fuels these risks. Each year, more than 100 billion tons of raw materials enter the global economy, with waste projected to reach 3.4 billion tons by 2050. These linear production and consumption patterns deplete natural resources and generate harmful impacts across the entire product lifecycle.

Addressing pollution at its source is an opportunity to drive economic growth, strengthen resource efficiency, and create new jobs.

The World Bank Group has invested more than US$52 billion over the past two decades to support countries in reducing pollution while creating jobs, advancing development goals, and promoting circular economy approaches. Its work spans air quality, chemicals, plastics, waste management, and cross-cutting research that help countries decouple growth from emissions.

The Bank Group provides technical assistance, financing, and knowledge products that cover:

• promoting environmental sustainability through a circular economy, cleaner production and pollution prevention;
• strengthening environmental institutions by helping countries improve pollution and chemicals management, environmental governance, regulation, and enforcement;
• improving air quality through the reduction of air pollution;
• improving water quality, both in freshwater and in the ocean;
• integrating management of waste, including hazardous waste management with a holistic approach that manages waste from generation and collection to treatment, recycling, and final disposal;
• considering remediation of contaminated sites to mitigate the negative effects from inadequate legacy industrial and waste management activities;
• reducing short-lived pollutants;
• disclosing environmental information for effective public participation in environmental management and sustainable economic development;
• sound management of chemicals, toxic materials, polluted lands, and the implementation of the Global Framework on Chemicals;
• marine litter management - working on stopping leakages through improved waste management and reductions in the upstream production of waste, including  single-use plastics; and
• creating new environmental markets, industries, jobs and opportunities to learn new skills.

Working jointly with client countries, the Bank Group also carries out analytical work to identify environmental priorities for poverty alleviation, with a focus on low and middle-income countries. Recent analytical workalso identified cost-effective approaches to address outdoor air pollution. In addition, interventions for reducing air pollution have been developed along with work that addresses the linkages between pollution, health, climate change and fiscal solutions.

This helps to identify the categories of environmental degradation that are more closely linked with poverty reduction and economic growth. For example, this approach has been applied in Yucatan (Mexico), and Lao PDR, where analytical work has informed investments, policy reforms, and capacity building interventions to address environmental priorities.

Accelerating Access to Clean Air

The World Bank Group takes an evidence based, multisector airshed approach to tackling air pollution - strengthening institutions and governance, expanding transparent monitoring and disclosure, and financing cost effective actions across energy, transport, industry, waste, agriculture, and households. By pairing policy reforms with scalable investments, the WBG helps countries reduce air pollution, save lives, and boost productivity - especially for the poor and vulnerable - through coordinated action at city, national, and regional levels.

Environment

Investments in nature, renewable natural resources, pollution management, and the circular economy create jobs and reduce poverty.

Explore our Environment Investments