Our projects
Building movements for cleaner air
We’re partnering with Breathe Cities to strengthen the collective power of organisations working towards clean air across 14 major cities worldwide. We are building the knowledge-sharing infrastructure and movement-building capacity that will accelerate action on clean air for years to come.
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Almost 2,000 children under five die every day from air pollution, that’s 700,000 young lives lost each year. It costs the global economy US$8.1 tn annually, which is equivalent to 6.1 per cent of global GDP. And 41 per cent of cities have air pollution over seven times higher than WHO’s safe limits, meaning millions breathe dangerously toxic air every single day.
But cities are also where change happens fastest. When civil society organisations join forces, they can secure the policy shifts needed to protect communities and save lives.
Why is it important?
8.1 m
Air pollution is the second leading risk factor for death, causing around 8.1 million deaths every year
39,000
Premature deaths could be prevented with a 30% reduction in air pollution across major cities by 2030
284 m
The 14 cities involved could see 284 million tonnes of CO2 avoided – a win for health and the climate
US$ 8.1 tn
The annual cost of air pollution to the global economy, which is about 6.4 per cent of global GDP.
What we’re delivering
This one-year learning partnership will equip key actors working towards clean air action across the Breathe Cities cohort with the tools, connections and capacity they need to drive policy change in their cities. We are helping Breathe Cities make strategic, high-level decisions on how to accelerate learning across 14 cities, which movement-building frameworks to rely on within the cities and what platforms should be built to share knowledge and connect grantees with one another.
Our approach combines three key elements
- 1. City-level movement building:
Our work involves developing a movement building strategy that enables Breathe Cities to build and grow effective clean air movements that scale cohesive and effective action for clean air. Applying our direct experience with bringing together diverse organisations, fostering coordination and shared strategies to amplify their collective action to clean air action at the city-level. Our goal is to build Breathe Cities’ capacity to support a wide range of actors in shaping air quality policy and public perception, building movements that secure lasting change. - 2. Cross-city knowledge sharing:
The best lessons often come from other contexts. We’re establishing peer clusters across cities to promote knowledge exchange and collective learning. A shared platform will host practical guides and best practices, enabling organisations to replicate successful campaigns and strengthen their advocacy capacities. - 3. Testing and learning:
This project gives us the opportunity to apply our expertise in networks and coalition building, learning and innovation and strategy co-design. We are supporting Breathe Cities and its grantees to make sense of the evidence we gather and test via a thorough needs assessment that supports collective learning and the inclusive design of a knowledge sharing platform and movement building framework. By synthesizing insights from 14 diverse cities, 90+ grantees, city officials and various philanthropy staff and partners; we are enabling Breathe Cities to make informed decisions on their long-term strategy for movement building and knowledge sharing across their entire portfolio. In parallel, we’re implementing a learning agenda that will generate new insights to inform our own current and future programmes.
Partners we’re working with on this project
Get in touch
Want to learn more about this project or explore how we could support your organisation’s work on coalition building and knowledge sharing? Get in touch with a member of our team.
