The World Health Organization estimates that over 90% of the world’s population is exposed to hazardous levels of local air pollution. Air pollution is markedly worse in low- and middle-income countries, yet air-quality monitoring is typically sparse. In 2008, the US Embassy in Beijing began tweeting hourly air-quality information from a newly installed pollution monitor, dramatically improving th...

The costs of air pollution are significant. The World Bank estimates the health damages caused by air pollution amount to USD 8.1 trillion a year, or 6.1% of global GDP. Meanwhile, according to OECD, the annual number of lost working days as a result of outdoor air pollution is projected to reach 3.7 billion by 2060 (currently around 1.2 billion). This in turn affects productivity. Although a...

Action on clean air will bring benefits to everyone on the planet, and advance other agendas such as climate change, health, and sustainable development. However, the issue is underfunded and not often enough a stated goal of existing finance flows.This paper summarises the current gaps in finance for clean air and lays out a threepart strategy for increasing both the quality and quantity of inves...

Crop Residue Burning (CRB) or open burning of vegetation to prepare land for resowing remains a persistent issue globally. This practice is especially prevalent among farmers growing paddy, wheat, sugarcane, and maize (FAOSTAT, 2023).  Between 2003 and 2020, an average of 81 million hectares (Hall et al., 2024) of cropland area was burned annually. Deeply rooted in agricultural traditions, CR...

The time series is a central component of the greenhouse gas inventory because it provides information on historical emissions trends and tracks the effects of strategies to reduce emissions at the national level. As is the case with estimates for individual years, emission trends should be neither over nor underestimated as far as can be judged. All emissions estimates in a time series should be ...

Although they are not included in global warming potential-weighted greenhouse gas emission totals, emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), and sulphur dioxide (SO2) are reported in greenhouse gas inventories. Carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and NMVOC in the presence of sunlight contribute to the formation of the gre...

Globally, air pollution has been identified as a major risk factor for premature mortality and morbidity; it caused an estimated 6.7 million deaths in 2019. The burden of disease falls particularly heavily on low- and middle-income countries, where the exposure levels tend to be significantly higher. Bangladesh is among the hardest hit. The country was ranked as the most polluted country in the wo...

It is vital that NDCs 3.0 not only address the health threats of climate change, but also minimise future health-harming events and prioritise triple win solutions to slow climate change, promote health, and ensure productive economies. Governments have an opportunity to publicly commit to actions which will deliver for human, planetary and economic wellbeing. Failure to do so is a missed opportun...

Through presenting a series of case studies, this policy brief aims to provide a clear and actionable pathway for health ministries— particularly in LMICs—at national, subnational, and local levels to strengthen their capacity and develop their leadership to address air pollution-related health burdens. The brief is centered on two main objectives: To outline progressive measures and policies...

For over a century, fossil fuels have been at the root of global development, and today account for 80% of global energy consumption. Economic, social and health advances have been built on these valuable assets. Fossil fuels have enabled the heating of homes, transportation to jobs and vital services, powering of hospitals and sanitation systems, and the production and delivery of food. However, ...