A report by the Clean Air Fund, an environmental charity, reveals that governments, agencies, and development banks have allocated more aid money to clean air initiatives than to fossil fuels for the first time on record. However, these clean air projects still receive less than 1% of international development funding. Toxic air pollution, with its deadly particles, ranks as the fourth-largest global killer, but efforts to combat it have been significantly underfunded.
The report highlights that in 2021, approximately $1.5 billion (£1.2 billion) was spent on fossil fuel projects, down from $11.9 billion two years earlier. Meanwhile, funding for addressing outdoor air pollution has increased to $2.3 billion. Nevertheless, clean air initiatives constituted only 1% of international development funding and 2% of international public climate finance between 2015 and 2021.
Jane Burston, the executive director of the Clean Air Fund, stressed that cleaning the air not only saves lives but also stimulates economies and mitigates the climate crisis, making it a highly cost-effective investment. While the shift away from fossil fuel funding is positive, the report underscores the need for a more rapid increase in funding for clean air initiatives.
More aid money spent on clean air than fossil fuels for first time | Air pollution | The Guardian