From crisis to opportunity: the case for funding clean air

Image © Shutterstock

We believe that investing in air quality saves lives, supports sustainable economic growth, and facilitates the critical transition away from fossil fuels toward greener, less polluting energy sources.  

A new report by the Clean Air Fund, entitled The State of Air Quality Funding 2024, focuses on the outdoor air quality funding landscape. It analyses projects funded by international development donors aimed at combating air pollution. In this report, the Clean Air Fund analyses international development funding for tackling air pollution. It highlights international public funding trends from 2018 to 2022, and provides recommendations for governments and development finance institutions. The report highlights how aid is not reaching the areas that need it most, for example the clean air sector receives less than one per cent of all international aid.  

However, the Clean Air Fund also showcases positive steps taken by institutions such as the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and the World Bank. Earlier this year, the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency pledged USD 1 billion in financial guarantees to de-risk air quality projects in low- and middle-income countries. By enhancing the creditworthiness of these initiatives, this move aims to mobilise much-needed private sector investment. 

This is an important development, as the cost of inaction on air pollution includes from lost productivity, diminished crop yields, and ill health, such as cancer and dementia. 

Oak supports the Clean Air Fund through our Environment Programme, which supports efforts that create zero-carbon, resilient, and healthy urban environments. Find out more here. You can download the report here.