People in Shinjuku Gyoen, Tokyo
Announced at COP28, the Our Common Air is a global commission of high-level government figures, renowned health experts, academics, and leading climate change specialists. It was initiated by Dr Arunabha Ghosh, Founder and CEO of Council on Energy, Environment and Water, and Jane Burston, Founder and CEO of Clean Air Fund.
Purpose
The commission gathers together a diverse group of global leaders from public health, government, academia and the private sector to:
- Create the conditions for faster and more effective action on clean air.
- Reaffirm the links between addressing climate change, improving health, and advancing sustainable economic development.
- Make the case that cost-effective opportunities to phase down the world’s dependence on fossil fuels are available today and can and must be accelerated to advance public health, well-being and economic development.
- Encourage governments to make clean air a fundamental consideration in the planning, development, and implementation of their climate strategies.
- Push for greater financial support for clean air, from public and private sources.
Call to action
The newly established Our Common Air Commission sets out the critical importance of clean air initiatives in a new call to action. The document urges global financial institutions to invest more heavily in clean air programmes to generate climate, health and economic benefits. It also calls on global financial institutions to measure and better track the economic benefits that come from clean air, so that it is recognised as an asset for people and planet.
It’s hard to understand why cleaning up the air we share is still not getting the funding, attention and backing it deserves. Not only is air pollution a problem which can be solved, but improving air quality also delivers knock-on benefits for global health and green growth. This new commission brings together leading thinkers to explore how best to fill the gaps in funding, evidence and accountability and advance progress on air pollution.
Jane Burston, co-convenor
Commissioners
The initiative brings together high-level global experts.
The co-chairs are:
- Rt. Honourable Helen Clark: Board Chair of Partnership for Maternal Newborn & Child Health, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and UNDP Administrator
- Dr Soumya Swaminathan: former Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization and chair of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation
The commissioners are:
- Dr Adriana Abdenur: Special Adviser to the President of the Republic of Brazil
- Dr Olusoji Adeyi: President, Resilient Health Systems, LCC
- Mr Junaid Ahmad: Vice President, Operations, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency of the World Bank Group
- Ms Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr: Mayor, Freetown, Sierra Leone
- Ms Jane Burston: CEO and founder of Clean Air Fund
- H.E. María Fernanda Espinosa: Executive Director, GWL Voices for Change & Inclusion
- Dr Arunabha Ghosh, Founder-CEO of Council on Energy, Environment and Water
- Dr Christa Hasenkopf: Director of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC)
- Dr Naoko Ishii: Executive Vice President, Professor, Institute for Future initiative, University of Tokyo
- Dr Puji Lestari: Professor, Bandung Institute of Technology
- Ms Gina McCarthy: Senior Fellow, The Fletcher School
- Dr Maria Neira: Director of the Public Health, Environment & Social Determinants of Health Department, World Health Organization
- Ms Martina Otto: Head of Secretariat, Climate and Clean Air Coalition
- Ms Shirley Rodrigues: Deputy Mayor, Environment and Energy,Greater London Authority
- Ambassador Paul Simons: Senior Fellow, Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs
- Dr Izabella Teixeira: Co-Chair, International Resource Panel
Clean air is not a luxury; it is a fundamental right and an asset. Achieving clean air is pivotal for human development, yet it is often put on the back burner. By highlighting the connections between clean air, reduced health risks, and economic prosperity, Our Common Air aims to build a compelling economic case for clearing the air and create a network of institutions to deliver solutions, provide requisite financial support and track progress.
Arunabha Ghosh, co-convenor
