Clean Air Fund launches new report to mark the second International Day of Clean Air for blue skies.Clean Air Fund produces The State of Global Air Quality Funding report every year. It is the only global snapshot of projects tackling air pollution by donor governments and philanthropic organisations. It identifies gaps in funding and opportunities for strategic investment and collaboration to deliver clean air.

Key findings:

• Between 2015 and 2020, official development funding on air quality projects amounted to less than 1% of all aid funding. The volume and pace of funding do not match the 153% rise in death rate due to air pollution in low- and middle-income countries in the last 30 years.  
• In 2019 and 2020, projects that prolong fossil fuel use - contributing to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions - received 21% more official development funding than air quality projects.
• Foundation funding on outdoor air quality projects increased by 17% to $44.7 million in 2020. This amounts to less than 0.1% of grant-making overall. The bulk of this is from climate and environment foundations.
• Countries in Africa and Latin America, where air pollution is escalating, receive 5% and 10% respectively of development funding. Philanthropic funding is similarly concentrated outside of these continents.  

Read the full report here.

The International Day of Clean Air for blue skies celebration in Rwanda will highlight ongoing best practices such as the Air Quality Monitoring System (AQMS), e-vehicles and motorcycles and clean and climate-friendly practices.

The event will serve as a rallying call to action to align Rwanda's efforts and claim the right to clean air while highlighting critical issues such as climate change as well as human and planetary health with emphasis on the COVID-19 pandemic. The event seeks to raise awareness of the impact of air pollution on human health and mobilize cities and individuals to protect health and planet from the effects of air pollution.

The event will include: (i) Presentation on air quality monitoring project; (ii) Presentation on air quality in Rwanda, Air Quality Index and Mobile Application; (iii) Presentation on impact of policies on air quality in Rwanda; (iv) Question and Answer Session Panel Discussion on the role of Policy and Private Sector in preserving Healthy Air, Healthy Planet.

When: 7 September 2021; 10:00 - 12:00

Register here

Event access code: 174 228 8901; Password: 3241556 and Twitter: @REMA_Rwanda

In this webinar organised by Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA), public health and medical experts will discuss and explore opportunities and strategies on air pollution, climate and health, for the South Asian region and discuss interventions that the public health & medical community make in transitioning towards a sustainable fossil fuel-free future.

When: 7 September 2021

Where: Online

Co-organizers: 

• Health Care Without Harm
• Climate Action Network South Asia
• Doctors For Clean Air and Climate Action
• Air Quality Life Index
• Lung Care Foundation
• Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty

The COVID-19 lockdown and travel restrictions led to a dramatic short-lived fall in emissions of key air pollutants in 2020, especially in urban areas. Many city dwellers saw blue skies instead of the pollution cloud. But the reduction was not uniformly spread across all regions or all types of pollutants. And many parts of the world still fell short of air quality guidelines, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The Air Quality and Climate Bulletin – the first of its kind issued by WMO – highlights the main factors that influence air quality patterns in 2020, in comparison to other years. It shows how there were episodes of both improvement and deterioration of air quality in different parts of the world.

The theme of this year’s International Day of Clean Air for blue skies is ‘Healthy Air, Healthy Planet’. This webinar examines three vital linkages for achieving the objectives embodied in this theme. The huge health and economic tolls of air pollution, coupled with its multi-faceted impacts on city livability, and competitiveness make air pollution squarely a development problem.

This webinar will discuss how the World Bank is supporting air quality management through analytical work at a global level. Specifically, the webinar will present findings from recently completed analytical work that estimates the global cost of health damages associated with PM_2.5 air pollution based on health data from the Global Burden of Disease study for 2019. The findings of a meta-analysis that sheds more light on whether different constituents and sources of PM_2.5 are more or less harmful to health than others – are also presented. In addition, an evaluation of whether satellite-derived measurements are reliable for predicting ground-level concentrations of air pollutants, notably PM_2.5, that cause mortality in low-and middle-income countries will be presented. Finally, the webinar will discuss integrated approaches for air quality management and climate change mitigation.

When: 8 September 2021 7:30 – 9:00am ET

Where: Online

Chair: Yewande Aramide Awe, Senior Environmental Engineer, Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy Global Practice, World Bank

Speakers include: 

• Bjorn Larsen, International Development Economist and Consultant
• George Thurston, Director of the Program in Exposure Assessment and Human Health Effects, Department of Environmental Medicine, NYU
• Matthew Alvarado, Vice President, Research and Development at Atmospheric and Environmental Research
• Grzegorz Peszko, Lead Economist, World Bank

Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental threats the world faces, and the world’s leading environmental risk to human health. In 2019 alone, exposure to fine particulate matter air pollution, also known as PM2.5 was responsible for 6.4 million premature deaths and 21 million years lived with disability. Low- and middle-income countries suffer the highest burden, with 95% of deaths occurring in these countries. Besides being a health problem, air pollution contributes to less-livable conditions in cities and hinders economic competitiveness.

7 September is the UN-designated International Day of Clean Air for blue skies. It’s a global call for action toward a single, unifying objective: clean air for all by urging countries to work together to tackle air pollution around the world. The theme of this year’s International Day of Clean Air for blue skies is: ‘Healthy Air, Healthy Planet’.

To mark this important day, the World Bank is organizing an event that will take place in two distinct sessions – morning and evening – to highlight how it is supporting countries in different regions to improve air quality through lending and technical assistance.

What: Banking on Clean Air to Save Lives: How the World Bank is Supporting Countries in Tackling Air Pollution Around the World

When: 7 September 2021

Morning session

6:00 am - 7:00 am ET: World Bank Supported Air Quality Management Activities in the Middle East and North Africa. Join here

7:00 am - 8:00 am ET: World Bank Supported Air Quality Management Activities in Sub – Saharan Africa. Join here

8:00 am - 9:00 am ET: From Problem Analysis to Proactive Action – Supporting Countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia to Establish Air Quality Management Frameworks. Join here

Evening session

8:00 pm - 9:00 pm ET: Air Quality Challenges and Successes in China, Indonesia, Mongolia and Vietnam. Join here

10:00 pm - 11:00 pm ET: Towards Cleaner Air in South Asia – National Initiatives with Regional Coordination. Join here

The Global Environment Monitoring System for Air (GEMS Air) of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), supports countries to provide quality assured data to keep the state of the world’s air quality under continuous review, develops capacity of member states, provides information and services across the science-policy-public interface and fosters transformation by leveraging the collective knowledge of a global network of partners.

To commemorate the second International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, GEMS Air is partnering with a leading Communications Company in Kenya, Safaricom, to organise a live stream of air quality data to digital billboards in Nairobi. The virtual event will involve short remarks from representatives from UNEP, Safaricom, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Kenya, Nairobi City County Government and others. 

When: 7 September 2021; 9:50 - 11: 30 EAT

Where: Online

In support of the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is launching a Youth for Climate Toolkit with a focus on strengthening the capacities of adolescents and young people and provide them with accessible information that allows them to fully participate in climate action.

In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), around 130 million children live in areas where air pollution exceeds the limits recommended by the World Health Organization, and at least 30 million live in homes where solid fossil wastes are used for cooking and heating.

In the LAC region, youth and adolescents are leading their own initiatives and campaigns and have begun to participate in debates and conversations in their countries and in regional spaces. UNICEF, along with a group of more than 45 activists from 11 countries in the region, have worked together to develop the LAC Youth Climate Activists Toolkit: The Air Quality booklet - Time to act!. The booklet is the first in a series of booklets on topics related to climate change and provides key elements to understand and deepen the main concepts on air pollution.

What: Launch of "Air Quality - Time to Act" youth booklet

When: 7 September 2021; 15:00 ET

Register here

Air pollution is now the greatest environmental threat to health, causing approximately 7 million premature deaths each year from diseases like heart disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.

To mark the second International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, LetMeBreathe will bring together young people to discuss the connection and outcomes of air pollution on human health. Children and #HawaKeRakshak will ask the tough questions and young doctors from the Medical Student Association of India will explain the science.

Air pollution is now the greatest environmental threat to health, causing approximately 7 million premature deaths each year from diseases like heart disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. It disproportionately affects children and the elderly and has a negative impact on ecosystems.

To commemorate the second International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, LetMeBreathe will organise a roundtable conversation with children and #HawaKeRakshak highlighting our collective responsibility and solutions to clear the air. The event will be moderated by a celebrity influencer.

When: 7 September 2021; 18:00 IST

Where: Live on @LetMeBreathe_In

Partners: LetMeBreathe, United Nations Environment Programme, Save the Children