European Grant Makers Pool $50 Million to Improve Air Quality

A group of European grant makers has pooled $50 million in a new fund whose goal is to improve air quality globally.

The creation of the fund, called the Clean Air Fund, was announced Monday at the United Nations Climate Action Summit. The money will be distributed over four years, and the fund’s leaders hope to double it to $100 million during that time.

Donors include IKEA, Children’s Investment Fund, Bernard van Leer, Oak, and FIA foundations, and the Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Charity.

Initially, the group will make grants to projects that monitor air quality, provide technology to reduce emissions, and advocate on the issue in Eastern Europe, India, and Britain.

If the fund hits the $100 million mark, it will triple the money currently directed to clean air, says a report accompanying the announcement. According to the research, 29 foundations that have taken a leading role made $30 million in grants in 2018, up from $9 million three years earlier.

The growth is promising, according to Jane Burston, executive director of the fund. But with 90 percent of the world’s population breathing unhealthy air and 4.7 million deaths attributed to air pollution, the current commitment is not enough, she says.

“The scale of the issue means that much more funding needs to be applied,” she says.