Development funders should clear the air

December 2023

A new report from the Clean Air Fund analyses how much funding from international development funders goes to projects aimed at reducing air pollution. The study included funding from multilateral development banks, bilateral development agencies and governments providing funding to low- and middle-income countries in the form of concessional and non-concessional loans, as well as grants, but did not include funding provided by the countries’ own national and sub-national government budgets. The report shows that only 1 per cent of international development funding (2.5 billion US dollars per year) and 2 per cent of international public climate finance (1.66 billion US dollars per year) during 2015–2021 went to air quality projects. 86 per cent of the total funding for air quality was concentrated in China, Philippines, Bangladesh, Mongolia and Pakistan.

During 2019, 11.9 billion US dollars of international development funding went to projects for the extraction and production of oil and gas, threatening the clean air cause and the delivery of global climate goals. In 2021, international development funding for outdoor air quality projects ($2.3 billion) for the first time exceeded funding for fossil fuel-prolonging projects ($1.5 billion). During COP26, a commitment was made to phase down coal-fired power. Since then, 34 countries and 5 public finance institutions have agreed to stop international public finance for fossil fuels by the end of 2022. This is good news for both clean air and climate change impact. If this downward trend continues, governments at COP28 need to agree on clear strategies for phasing out fossil fuels completely and transitioning to cleaner energy sources. Air pollution, on average, reduces life expectancy by 2.2 years globally, but nine out of 10 deaths attributable to outdoor air pollution are in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Air pollution has considerable negative impacts on economic growth and development, through workplace absence, reduced productivity, and health costs. Many studies have shown how, in low-income countries, development gains since 1990 have been diminished by the damage caused by increased air pollution exposure. The report concludes that for every 1,000 US dollars spent by a development funder, just 7 US dollars was spent on tackling outdoor air pollution, while there is evidence that 1 US dollar spent on air pollution control can yield 30 US dollars in economic benefits.

The State of Global Air Quality Funding 2023, 28 September 2023, https://www.cleanairfund.org/resource/state-of-global-air-quality-fundin...

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