Accelerating Access to Clean Air for a Livable Planet

ACCELERATINGACCESS TOCLEAN AIR FOR ALIVABLE PLANETPublic Disclosure Authorized ©2025 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433Telephone: +1 202-473-1000Internet: www.worldbank.org This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, inter-pretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The WorldBank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or currency of the data included inthis work and does not assume responsibility for any errors, omissions, or discrepancies in the infor-mation, or liability with respect to the use of or failure to use the information, methods, processes, orconclusions set forth. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on anymap in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legalstatus of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Nothing herein shall constitute or be construed or considered to be a limitation upon or waiver of theprivileges and immunities of The World Bank, all of which are specifically reserved. Rights and permissions The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because The World Bank Group encouragesdissemination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for non-commer-cial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given and all further permissions that may berequired for such use (as noted herein) are acquired. The World Bank Group does not warrant that thecontent contained in this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties and accepts no responsi-bility or liability in this regard. All queries on rights and licenses should be addressed to World BankPublications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; e-mail:pubrights@worldbank.org. ACCELERATINGACCESS TOCLEAN AIR FOR ALIVABLE PLANET ABOUT THIS REPORT Air pollution is taking a heavy toll on both people and economies across the world.Reducing it will require effective, targeted, and integrated policies. This report identifies the main sources of air pollution in the world today, with a focuson ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5). It deploys scenario modeling to assess theextent to which current air pollution policies will reduce exposure to PM2.5by 2040,and to show how adopting an integrated suite of decarbonization and air qualitymanagement policies could yield significant progress towards clean air, with sub-stantial co-benefits. The report also assesses strategies and financing requirements to mobilize cleanair investments, and emphasizes the features of effective air quality managementgovernance. CONTENTS Foreword...............................................................................................................................viiiMain Messages....................................................................................................................... xiiExecutive Summary................................................................................................................ xiv1.Introduction................................................................................................................ 11.1The global cost of ambient air pollution..............................................................................................21.2Modeling policy options for reducing air pollution..........................................................................91.3The case for integrated policies........................................................................................................... 151.4Development co-benefits..................................................................................................................... 212.Multisectoral Solutions to Accelerate Access to Clean Air.......................................... 282.1Prioritizing an integrated approach................................................................................................... 302.2Cooking and residential heating........................................................................................................ 362.3Agriculture.............................................................................................................................................. 422.4Industrial sources and power generation.......................................................................................... 472.5Transportation....................................................................................................................................... 512.6Municipal solid waste........................................................................................................................... 562.7Urban solutions..................................