- Report home
- Key findings
- Trends in air quality funding
- Top funders for air quality
- Forms of funding
- Where is funding going?
- Which sectors get air quality funding?
- Funding for fossil fuels vs air quality
- Deep dive: Southeast Asia
- Funding focused on super pollutants
- Recommendations for development donors
Top funders: total air quality
This year’s top ten air quality funders saw only one new entrant: the Development Bank of Latin America. Many institutions held their rankings year on year, with some shifting only a couple of places (see table below).
| 2020-2024 Ranking | 2019-2023 ranking | Institution | Value ($ billion) | Share of total (%) | Largest recipient country (% of funding) |
| 1 | 1 | Japan International Cooperation Agency | 26 | 21% | India (41%) |
| 2 | 2 | Asian Development Bank | 15 | 12% | Philippines (39%) |
| 3 | 5 | World Bank Group | 9.3 | 7% | Turkey (16%) |
| 4 | 4 | Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank | 7.7 | 6% | India (49%) |
| 5 | 3 | Agence Francaise de Developpement | 7.6 | 6% | Turkey (12%) |
| 6 | 6 | KfW Group | 5.7 | 5% | India (33%) |
| 7 | 7 | European Bank for Reconstruction and Development | 5.5 | 4% | Turkey (22%) |
| 8 | 8 | Inter-American Development Bank | 3.3 | 3% | Ecuador (23%) |
| 9 | 12 | Development Bank of Latin America | 2.9 | 2% | Brazil (51%) |
| 10 | 9 | Government of Germany | 2.8 | 2% | Egypt (8%) |
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) continue their dominance of the top funders, providing a third of global air quality funding between them.
We also see Latin American institutions growing in influence. Alongside the Development Bank of Latin America entering the top ten for 2020-2024, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) remained among the largest funders. These banks largely channelled funds within Latin America and the Caribbean, including for large rail infrastructure projects in Chile and Brazil. This growth in air quality investments coincides with an increased institutional emphasis on urban mobility and modal shifts toward active and public transport, with the IDB specifically including air quality improvements in the investment rationale for public transport projects.1
Top funders: outdoor air quality
A small number of funders provide the majority of outdoor air quality funding
Four funders account for around 75% of outdoor air quality funding, with JICA providing half. JICA remained by far the largest funder of outdoor air quality funding in 2020-2024, providing $7.8 billion (49%).2 JICA’s investment was more than three times that of the second largest, ADB (see table below).
Together, JICA, ADB, Germany’s KfW Group, and the World Bank Group accounted for almost three quarters of all outdoor air quality funding. This dominance from a handful of funders highlights the opportunity, and need, for others to step up into this space.
| 2020-2024 Ranking | 2019-2023 ranking | Institution | Value ($ billion) | Share of total (%) | Largest destination country (% of funding) |
| 1 | 1 | Japan International Cooperation Agency | 7.8 | 49% | Philippines (47%) |
| 2 | 2 | Asian Development Bank | 1.7 | 11% | China (31%) |
| 3 | 3 | KfW Group | 1.3 | 8% | India (63%) |
| 4 | 4 | World Bank Group | 1.1 | 7% | Egypt (48%) |
| 5 | 6 | Government of Canada | 0.5 | 3% | Mali (9%) |
| 6 | 7 | European Bank for Reconstruction and Development | 0.4 | 3% | Uzbekistan (50%) |
| 7 | 5 | Export-Import Bank of Korea | 0.3 | 2% | Egypt (47%) |
| 8 | 11 | Government of Germany | 0.3 | 2% | Egypt (26%) |
| 9 | 8 | Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank | 0.3 | 2% | Uzbekistan (88%) |
| 10 | 23 | Green Climate Fund | 0.2 | 1% | Multi-country (82%) |
Notable changes include sharp increases from ADB, whose outdoor air quality funding reached $1 billion in 2024. This coincides with ADB’s flagship Asia Clean Blue Skies Program (ACBSP) for scaling up investment in clean air across Asia and the Pacific.3 Launched in 2022, the ACBSP supports ADB’s developing member countries to improve air quality management by:
- Strengthening policies, plans and strategies;
- Building knowledge, monitoring and institutional capacity, and
- Preparing investments and financing solutions that reduce air pollution across sectors including transport, energy, industry, agriculture, waste, and urban development.
Under the ACBSP, ADB also reviews its annual investment portfolio to identify projects that contribute to improved air quality; support efforts to embed air quality considerations across sector operations, and scale up investments with clean air benefits.
Climate and transport programmes bring new funders into the top ten
The German government entered the top ten funders, rising from 11th to 8th place with $0.3 billion in outdoor air quality funding in 2020-2024. The rise was driven by direct consideration of air quality benefits in bilateral technical assistance projects. These projects supported climate planning and sectoral emissions reductions in Ukraine, and climate-resilient housing and basic infrastructure in Libya.
The Green Climate Fund’s rise from 23rd to 10th in the funder rankings came as it provided $0.2 billion of outdoor air quality funding over 2020-2024. This funding was driven by a regional e-mobility programme approved in 2024 and implemented by ADB across seven countries in Asia and Eastern Europe.4 The programme funds electric buses, non-motorised transport, and other measures to support the use of public transport. It is expected to reduce PM2.5 emissions by 507 tonnes and nitrogen oxides emissions by 15,120 tonnes over its lifetime.
References
1IDB. 2024. Bogotá Metro Line 2 (L2MB)
2JICA. 2025. JICA Philippines Annual Report 2025
3ADB. 2022. ADB Launches Program to Scale Up Investments in Air Quality Improvement