{"id":1939,"date":"2021-03-19T17:52:52","date_gmt":"2021-03-19T17:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=1939"},"modified":"2021-03-19T17:52:52","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T17:52:52","slug":"vital-global-initiative-will-accelerate-clean-air-solutions-in-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/global-clean-air\/2021\/03\/19\/vital-global-initiative-will-accelerate-clean-air-solutions-in-cities\/","title":{"rendered":"Vital global initiative will accelerate clean air solutions in cities"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Everybody deserves the right to breathe clean air. Yet air pollution is choking cities and communities around the world \u2013 a staggering 9 in 10 people breathe unhealthy air.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

City leaders need to urgently identify and accelerate solutions across the world. That\u2019s why the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is launching a bold initiative \u2013 called <\/span>Clean Air Catalyst<\/span><\/a> \u2013 to help cities around the world reduce air pollution by advancing solutions that protect health, promote equitable prosperity and tackle the climate crisis.\u00a0 Through a global consortium of organizations led by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Clean Air Catalyst\u202fwill begin in two pilot cities: Indore, India, and Jakarta, Indonesia. <\/span>In Jakarta, WRI Indonesia is the implementing organization.<\/p>\n

To mark the initiative\u2019s official launch, hundreds of people from around the world attended a virtual conversation on clean air, health and climate solutions with U.S. Senator Bob Menendez and USAID\u2019s Karl Fickenscher, as well as representatives from partners and the pilot cities. Here\u2019s what you need to know.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Improving health for vulnerable communities<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Air pollution is the greatest environmental threat to human health \u2013 causing more than 6 million premature deaths each year. <\/span>Karl Fickenscher<\/span><\/a>, representing the <\/span>USAID Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation<\/span><\/a>, said, \u201cEighty percent of these deaths are in low and middle-income countries, and the current trends could result in a staggering 10 million deaths per year by 2050.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Poor air quality affects nearly every organ in the body and increases risk of heart and lung diseases, including\u00a0 asthma. Children, older people and low-wealth communities often experience the worst outcomes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Clean Air Catalyst will work with communities, as well as governments and the private sector, to develop local solutions that protect people\u2019s health.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a matter of public health, of equity and of environmental justice,\u201d said Senator Menendez. \u201cThe Clean Air Catalyst is a vital global flagship program that will build upon the knowledge and expertise of the United States to work with communities on the frontlines in developing and sustaining progress toward cleaner and healthier air.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n