"The State of Global Air Quality Funding 2024" by the Clean Air Fund serves as a critical call to action for African nations. Photo by AI
A new report by the Clean Air Fund, “The State of Global Air Quality Funding 2024,” reveals critical insights for African nations grappling with escalating air pollution.
The analysis, based on international development funding flows up to 2022, highlights significant disparities in financial support for clean air initiatives, urging African countries to strategize for increased and more equitable funding.
The Stark Reality of Funding Disparity for Africa
The report underscores a concerning trend: international development funding for clean air efforts is severely underfunded globally, making up only 1% of all international development funding.
For Africa and the Middle East, the situation is particularly dire. From 2018 to 2022, the total outdoor air quality funding for all countries in these regions combined was a mere $1.5 billion.
This figure is less than a third of the funding channeled to just one Asian country, the Philippines, which received $4.7 billion over the same period.
Further illustrating this imbalance, approximately half of Africa and the Middle East’s $1.5 billion in funding was received by only one country: Egypt.
This geographic concentration leaves many African nations with minimal international support to tackle their growing air pollution crises.
The Human and Economic Toll of Overlooked Air Pollution
Air pollution is a global crisis, with 99% of the world’s population breathing harmful air.
It’s a leading cause of premature deaths, accounting for more than 8 million fatalities annually, more than twice as many as from malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS combined.
The economic consequences are also crippling, with the World Bank estimating health damages alone from air pollution at $8.1 trillion a year, equivalent to 6.1% of global GDP.
This “dirty air tax,” as the report puts it, impacts productivity and drives inequalities.
The annual number of working days lost to outdoor air pollution could reach 3.7 billion by 2060 if no action is taken.
For Africa, where the impact of air pollution is not felt equally, with nine out of ten deaths attributed to outdoor air quality occurring in low- and middle-income countries, this data is particularly salient.
Air pollution disproportionately affects individuals and marginalized communities in lower-income countries.
This burden is compounded by weaker health systems, making access to quality healthcare a challenge.
The Debt Burden and Loan-Heavy Funding
The report highlights another critical barrier for African nations: the nature of air quality funding.
From 2018 to 2022, 92% of air quality funding was provided in the form of loans, creating costs for recipient countries and hindering the uptake of this vital assistance.
In stark contrast, total Official Development Assistance in 2022 saw 63% grant funding.
This loan-heavy approach is a significant concern for low-income countries in Africa, many of which are already grappling with increased debt vulnerabilities.
Rising interest rates and debt servicing costs leave less money for domestic spending on vital areas like air quality.
Countries struggling with debt may be reluctant or unable to take on new borrowing, even for critical clean air projects.
The report’s findings show that low-income countries such as Chad and Somalia received much less funding than upper-middle-income countries such as Serbia and Costa Rica: $2 versus $73 of overall air quality funding per person from 2018 to 2022.
This “imbalance highlights that international development funders should increase the provision of low-cost loans and especially grants being committed for projects with air quality co-benefits.”
Overlooked by Funders: The Call for Equitable Distribution
The report reveals that many of the countries with the highest exposure to air pollution receive a low level of overall air quality funding.
Seven of the ten most highly polluted countries received a 1% or lower share of global overall air quality funding from 2018 to 2022.
This pattern indicates that “many of the countries being overlooked by international development funders are those that are the most in need of support.”
This underlines the urgent need for international development funders to consider income, pollution exposure, and wider developmental context when allocating outdoor air quality funding.
African nations, in particular, need increased concessional capital, especially grants, to overcome debt vulnerabilities and effectively implement air quality improvements.
Integrating Air Quality into Development and Climate Agendas
A key takeaway for Africa is the need to integrate air quality considerations across all thematic portfolios and funding decisions, especially for investments in climate and health.
The report emphasizes that “air quality action must be mainstreamed across climate and development interventions, ensuring that air quality outcomes are considered throughout the project planning, implementation and evaluation processes”.
While climate finance commitments are growing, less than 3% of international public climate finance explicitly targeted air quality improvements from 2018 to 2022.
However, “action to clean our air also reduces greenhouse gas emissions, delivering multiple benefits for society, the economy, nature and climate”.
This presents a significant opportunity for African countries to frame air quality initiatives within broader climate and development goals to attract more funding.
The report also highlights the need for targeted funding to mitigate “super pollutants” like black carbon (or soot), which received only 0.1% of donors’ outdoor air quality funding ($18 million out of $16 billion from 2018 to 2022).
Addressing these pollutants can yield significant and immediate benefits for both air quality and climate.
Lessons from Successful Initiatives and Recommendations for Africa
Despite the overall funding shortfalls, some positive steps by international development funders offer valuable lessons.
The World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) pledged $1 billion in financial guarantees in April 2024 to de-risk air quality projects in low- and middle-income countries.
These guarantees aim to increase the creditworthiness of air quality projects, thereby mobilizing much-needed private sector investment.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has committed to ending preventable deaths (EPD) of mothers, newborns, and children by 2030, supported by a nearly £15 million programme, with tackling air pollution a key focus within this EPD strategy.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched the Asia Clean Blue Skies Programme in 2022 with $1.5 million for the first phase, seeking to build capacity and scale up financing for air quality.
The report encourages international development funders to:
- Expand their grant funding.
- Integrate air quality considerations across all thematic portfolios and funding decisions, especially for investments in climate and health.
- Develop and enhance monitoring and tracking systems that fully account for air quality.
- Stop funding projects that prolong the use of fossil fuels.
For African nations, these recommendations translate into several key takeaways:
- Advocacy for Grants: African governments and organizations should strongly advocate for increased grant-based funding for air quality projects, given the existing debt burdens.
- Integrated Strategies: Develop national and regional strategies that explicitly link air quality improvements with climate change mitigation, public health outcomes, and sustainable development goals to attract broader funding.
- Strengthened Data and Monitoring: Invest in and strengthen air quality monitoring and data collection systems. Robust data can better demonstrate the problem’s scale and the impact of interventions, making a stronger case for funding.
- Focus on Localized Solutions: Tailor solutions to local pollution sources, such as transport, waste, buildings, and agriculture, as highlighted in the report’s sector analysis.
- Capacity Building: Prioritize capacity building for local governments and technical experts to effectively manage and communicate air quality issues.
- Public Awareness and Engagement: Foster public demand for clean air through awareness campaigns and community engagement, empowering citizens to advocate for healthier environments.
- Halt Fossil Fuel Projects: Work towards phasing out projects that prolong fossil fuel use, aligning with global efforts to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The report notes that funding for fossil-fuel prolonging projects increased by 350% from $1.2 billion in 2021 to $5.4 billion in 2022.
- Regional Cooperation: Emphasize regional cooperation to address transboundary air pollution and to collectively advocate for more equitable international funding distribution. The report’s finding on regional funding disparities underscores the need for a unified African voice.
