
Can we put a price on clean air? Yes, we can
One of the features of recent months to which we’ve all grown accustomed is daily news stories about the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on air quality in cities around the world.
Decades of exposure to toxic air have worsened the health of communities globally. Millions have been left with respiratory and other health problems which leave them predisposed to the most severe impacts of COVID-19, resulting in more hospitalisations and deaths – especially amongst the poorest and most vulnerable. This comes on top of the 7 million deaths already linked to air pollution each year.
This critical window of opportunity demands bold, decisive and informed leadership, and effective global collaboration. With a joined-up, strategic and well-resourced approach to cleaning our air we can improve health, build resilience to future diseases, boost productivity, reduce health costs and help tackle climate change.
The Alliance for Clean Air brings together different sectors and organisation types to share facts, best practice, work through the barriers to action, and have a place for public-private partnerships to be developed. Our mission is to protect the health of current and future generations by mobilising multistakeholder action on outdoor air pollution to meet the World Health Organization guidelines for air quality and progress on the broader 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. A partnership with the Clean Air Fund is in place to support the acceleration of solutions.
Resources:
Frequently asked questions on air pollution
Breathing space: Why and how we must build back better to achieve clean air for all
For more information, please contact Roddy Weller at roderick.weller@weforum.org
One of the features of recent months to which we’ve all grown accustomed is daily news stories about the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on air quality in cities around the world.
Outdoor air pollution has a substantial impact on health, mainly from breathing pollutants and small particulate matter (often referred to as PM2.5) that travel deep into the lungs. These...
We are in the grip of a global public health crisis, the extent and final outcome of which is unknown. After a period of lockdown in many countries, and the consequent economic slowdown, ...
The announcements from the UN's Climate Action Summit shared one distinct feature - each thematic focus included a private sector CEO that accepted the challenge to act on climate and air...