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

The amount of the smog allowance should vary according to the city's air quality - compensating workers and their families for living in a polluted environment while incentivising municipalities to clean up their acts

• Is your wood stove choking you? How indoor fires are suffocating cities

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).

Related: Is your wood stove choking you? How indoor fires are suffocating cities