Global funding to tackle air pollution is falling, even as the world faces mounting health and economic costs from toxic air, according to this year’s State of Global Air Quality Funding report, produced by the Clean Air Fund, Climate Policy Initiative and The Advocacy Team.
Last year, the headline finding of the report was that funding for fossil fuel projects had overtaken that for air quality schemes. A year on we are now being told that international development funding for projects that prolong fossil fuel use has surged 80% to $9.5 billion, while support for tackling air pollution fell by a fifth.
The report highlights the nonsense of the situation by presenting Bangladesh as an example. In 2022 Bangladesh had the world’s highest annual mean concentrations of PM2.5 yet received $1.1 billion more in fossil fuel-prolonging funding than they did to improve the country’s air quality.
Jane Burston, CEO of Clean Air Fund, said: ‘This year, governments pledged to halve air pollution harm by 2040, but the money is still flowing the wrong way. With budgets already under pressure and the world’s largest development donor shutting down, we cannot afford to keep bankrolling fossil fuels.
‘Unless we change course, millions more people will die from toxic air. Investing in clean air is one of the fastest, most effective ways to protect health, strengthen economies and tackle climate change. Every dollar spent on fossil fuels pushes that goal further out of reach.’
The report goes on to highlight a decline in direct investment to improve outdoor air quality and, to make matters worse, much of the funding that is available is failing to reach the regions most affected by pollution.
Between 2019 and 2023, 65% of all outdoor air quality funding went to just three countries – the Philippines, Bangladesh, and China. Meanwhile, sub-Saharan Africa, home to many of the world’s most polluted cities, saw a 91% drop in funding, from $129 million in 2022 to just $12 million in 2023. Seven of the ten most polluted countries received less than $1 per person in air quality funding last year, a disparity that the report says risks worsening global inequality.
There are, however, some signs of progress. Projects that deliver air quality co-benefits, such as clean transport or renewable energy schemes, saw a modest 7% increase in funding, reaching $28.8 billion in 2023. Investment in projects targeting black carbon emissions also more than doubled to $824 million.
Yet these gains are clearly insufficient, given that The World Bank estimates that $13.9 billion per year will be needed by 2040 just to halve the number of people exposed to dangerous outdoor air pollution.
The report urges development finance institutions and international donors to make clean air a core priority within global development and climate agendas. It calls for air quality benefits to be integrated into all project design and implementation, particularly in climate-focused initiatives where co-benefits are most significant. Tools such as the Air Quality Toolkit for Development Finance Institutions are available to help identify these opportunities.
To accelerate progress, institutions should embed air quality objectives across their structures, policies and training programmes. Funding must also be distributed more equitably, as most current air quality finance is concentrated in a few countries while regions with the greatest pollution burdens, especially sub-Saharan Africa, receive minimal support.
The report highlights the need for stronger cross-donor coordination, including shared reporting systems and a collaborative “airshed” approach to tackling pollution. It also recommends targeting black carbon emissions -a potent climate and health pollutant – and using public finance to de-risk private investment and scale up effective interventions.
Finally, the report calls for a rapid and fair phase-out of fossil fuel funding, urging that these resources be redirected towards a green transition that delivers cleaner air, improved health and sustainable economic growth.
Barbara Buchner, Global Managing Director of Climate Policy Initiative, which co-authored the report, said: ‘CPI is honored and excited by our ongoing partnership with Clean Air Fund to build the only global dataset that makes air quality finance flows visible. And what we see currently is not so good – the availability of data from public actors is poor, and when available, the level of finance directed to improve air quality is far too low.
‘But our work confirms that the opportunities are tremendous. With public budgets constrained, increasing air quality finance is one the most impactful investments that can achieve multiple goals: to address climate change, strengthen economies, and significantly improve daily life for millions globally.’
The full report can be read here.
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