London Climate Action Week: Day 2

Momentum Builds on Clean Air and Super Pollutants at LCAW

Clean air and super pollutants took center stage and London Climate Action Week yesterday, with Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and Clean Air Fund (CAF) co-organizing a full day of sessions that convened climate, finance, policy, health, and business leaders to drive action on super pollutants. From launching LOW-M methane finance tools to spotlighting Africa’s air quality leadership and guiding companies on integrated emissions accounting, the day reinforced clean air as a critical lever for climate, development, and public health. Yesterday’s events culminated with a fireside chat on unlocking finance for clean air, underscoring CCAC’s agenda heading into today’s Board meeting. For a full overview of CCAC's events, visit the CCAC LCAW 2025 events page. 

LOW-M Finance Solutions: Unlocking Finance with Data

This roundtable, co-hosted by the CCAC, C40 Cities, the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), and the Global Methane Hub (GMH), brought together global leaders, cities, funders, and technical experts to advance solutions at the intersection of waste management, methane reduction, and climate finance.

The discussion emphasized that organic waste is not only a major source of methane emissions but also presents a significant opportunity for climate action and the development of circular economies. Momentum continues to build globally, with over 60 countries now endorsing the Reducing Organic Waste Declaration launched at COP29, representing jurisdictions responsible for more than half of global waste methane emissions.

Despite this strong potential, only 1% of current methane finance flows toward upstream waste solutions such as composting, prevention, and diversion. To address this, the session featured the launch of practical tools like the LOW-Waste Finance Toolkit and Methane Data Solutions, designed to help cities make a stronger case for investment. Presentations also highlighted the growing role of satellite data and robust MRV (monitoring, reporting, and verification) systems in verifying methane reductions and unlocking access to carbon markets.

Participants stressed the importance of empowering subnational actors, supporting informal workers, and ensuring that finance reaches the front lines of implementation. There was broad consensus that closing the finance and data gaps is both critical and achievable, through collaboration, improved project design, and catalytic public-private partnerships. 

Regional Cooperation on Air Pollution in Africa – Africa Clean Air Programme  

This event, hosted by the CCAC and CAF, spotlighted growing momentum across Africa to address air pollution through strengthened regional cooperation, national leadership, and global support, with a particular focus on the Africa Clean Air Programme (ACAP).

The event opened with a video address from Lord Collins of Highbury, UK Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Africa, reaffirming the UK Government’s long-term commitment to air quality in Africa, including its recent £700,000 contribution to ACAP. Martina Otto, Head of the CCAC Secretariat, emphasized ACAP’s role as a pioneering regional platform that aligns climate and clean air goals, and the critical importance of collaborative action on the continent.

The first panel, moderated by Deo Okure, Air Quality Scientist and Programme Manager at AirQo, highlighted strong national leadership from Ghana and Nigeria. Peter Dery, Director of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation for Ghana, and Asmau Jibril, Head of Nigeria’s National Council on Climate Change, shared their countries’ progress in integrating air quality into broader development and climate plans. They emphasized interventions such as clean cooking transitions, vehicle emissions standards, and expanding air quality monitoring systems, along with the need for robust policy frameworks and subnational capacity building.

The second panel, moderated by Chloe Watson, Senior Manager for Knowledge and Policy at C40’s Breathe Cities initiative, focused on regional cooperation and global support. Jane Burston, CEO of the Clean Air Fund, emphasized the growing momentum for coordinated efforts, while Bill Parish, Deputy Director for the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, outlined the UK’s strategic role in advancing clean air and climate co-benefits. Professor Ed Brown, Research Director at Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS), underscored the importance of clean air finance, data systems, and health-centered approaches to implementation.

Speakers throughout the session emphasized the urgent need to address financing challenges, with less than 1% of global development finance currently directed toward air quality. They called for greater grant funding, better integration of air quality co-benefits in development planning, and more robust investment cases linked to public health and productivity.

Closing the session, H.E Max Andonirina Fontaine, Madagascar’s Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development, shared a video message reflecting on the transformative potential of ACAP to scale action through regional institutions, national implementation roadmaps, and shared data platforms. The session made clear that ACAP represents a vital opportunity to foster transboundary solutions for the health of African communities and the planet. 

Super Pollutants, Air Quality, & Public Health Panel  

As climate and health agendas increasingly converge, today’s session at London Climate Action Week spotlighted the powerful role of super pollutant reductions in driving near-term benefits for both human health and the planet. Convened by the CCAC and CAF, the discussion brought together leading voices from science, policy, and city leadership to call for urgent, integrated action on air pollution and climate change.

The panel opened with remarks from Jane Burston, CEO of CAF, who set the tone by framing air pollution as both a health emergency and a climate crisis, one that demands cross-sectoral cooperation and bold leadership.

Mete Coban, Deputy Mayor of London for Environment and Energy, shared the city’s progress in reducing air pollution through policies like the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), alongside robust public engagement and inter-borough collaboration. He emphasized the tangible health benefits already being observed in London’s communities because of these interventions.

Professor Andy Haines of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine presented compelling evidence on the health impacts of super pollutants such as black carbon and methane. He highlighted the broad spectrum of harm they cause, from premature deaths to respiratory illness, and reinforced the urgent need to frame clean air policies as central to protecting public health at all life stages.

Martina Otto, Head of the CCAC Secretariat, spoke about the value of integrated strategies that address climate and air quality together. She called for accelerated action on super pollutants, emphasizing that tackling these emissions can deliver near-term gains for both planetary and human health.

Peter Dery, Director of Environment at Ghana’s Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), described how Ghana is advancing its air quality agenda through initiatives like the ACAP. He noted the importance of aligning national strategies with regional frameworks and spotlighted the country’s growing investment in monitoring and clean energy access.

David Foster, Air Quality Policy Advisor at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), echoed the importance of international and regional collaboration. He emphasized that air pollution is a transboundary issue and that coordinated efforts across borders are essential to reducing health disparities and achieving shared development goals.

In the moderated discussion, panelists stressed the need to better communicate the co-benefits of clean air measures, including their economic and health returns. They highlighted the importance of mainstreaming air quality into national development plans, fostering stronger coordination among governments, and engaging the private sector and civil society in the clean air agenda.

The session concluded with a strong call to action: reducing super pollutants is one of the fastest, most effective ways to deliver immediate health benefits while accelerating progress toward climate targets.  

Private Sector Practical Guide Launch Event

Later in the day, the CCAC and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) launched the updated Integrated Guide for Business Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollutant Emission Assessment. The guide offers companies a practical framework to measure and manage both climate and air pollutant emissions in an integrated way.

Opening the event, Martina Otto, Head of the CCAC Secretariat, reflected on the guide’s origins in a brief exchange between CCAC and IKEA in 2019. That initial conversation quickly evolved into a multi-year collaboration grounded in the shared belief that tackling air pollution and climate change together can deliver broader, faster results. Otto emphasized that the new guide adapts methodologies developed by governments and scientists to the unique needs of the private sector, enabling businesses to embed air quality goals within their climate strategies.

Eleni Michalopoulou, Research Associate at SEI and Project Fellow at the World Economic Forum, presented the technical updates made to the guide. It now covers six key emitting sectors—electricity, stationary combustion, transport, industry, agriculture, and waste—and provides alignment with national inventories and policy frameworks. The updated version expands pollutant coverage to include super pollutants, particulate matter, and heavy metals, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of emissions impacts. Michalopoulou highlighted how companies are already using the guide to inform climate disclosure, meet emerging reporting requirements such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and model effective mitigation strategies.

Ana Flavia Velloso Porrenga, Director of Global Sustainability Engagement & Advocacy at Inter IKEA Group, shared the company’s experience applying the guide. She explained how IKEA has used the methodology to map emissions across its value chain and identify clear reduction pathways, reporting that the guide helped shape a strategy to reduce air pollutant emissions by 50% by 2030. Velloso underscored the importance of transparency and collaboration in reaching corporate climate and health goals, and called for wider business uptake of integrated tools like this one.

Closing the session, Jane Burston, CEO and Founder of the Clean Air Fund, praised the collaborative effort behind the guide’s development. With more than 21 companies now participating in the Alliance for Clean Air, including major players such as Google, Mahindra, and Bloomberg, and Burston noted that the guide is helping to set a new benchmark for corporate environmental accountability. She emphasized the growing recognition that aligning air quality and climate efforts is not only scientifically sound but also operationally practical and socially impactful.

Looking ahead, the guide will be promoted through global training and outreach efforts, supported by the UN Global Compact, UNEP, and philanthropic partners. As speakers emphasized throughout the event, public-private partnerships of this kind can play a crucial role in accelerating action on climate and air pollution, and in delivering healthier outcomes for communities worldwide. 

Sky’s the Limit: Unlocking Finance for Climate and Clean Air

Closing out a full day of dialogue at London Climate Action Week, the CCAC and CAF hosted an engaging fireside discussion focused on one of the most underfunded but high-impact areas of climate action: clean air. Titled “Sky’s the Limit: Unlocking Finance for Climate and Clean Air,” the session brought together political leaders, global funders, and advocates to explore how financing for air quality can unlock wide-ranging health, climate, and economic benefits.

Moderated by Martina Otto, Head of the CCAC Secretariat, the conversation opened with reflections on why super pollutants are still too often overlooked in climate finance despite their clear impact on both planetary and public health.

H.E. Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, Norway’s Minister of Climate and the Environment, emphasized that reducing these pollutants offers one of the fastest ways to slow warming while also improving people’s daily lives. He called for bolder ambition and alignment between climate and development priorities.

Valerie Hickey, Climate Director at the World Bank, underscored the economic case for action, citing estimates that air pollution causes billions in GDP losses annually, particularly in lower-income countries. She stressed that the cost of inaction now far exceeds the investment needed to drive progress.

Rachel Huxley, Head of Mitigation at the Wellcome Trust, emphasized that air pollution is both a public health emergency and a social equity issue. She advocated for greater use of health evidence in funding decisions and development planning, pointing out that the most affected communities are often the least equipped to respond.

Eamon Ryan, CCAC High-Level Advocate and former Irish Minister for the Environment, described clean air as a fundamental right and a public good that should be protected at all levels of government. Sean Maguire, Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Clean Air Fund, echoed this sentiment, adding that the solutions exist but need meaningful, long-term financial support.

The conversation also highlighted flagship CCAC initiatives, such as ACAP and the Air Quality Management Exchange Platform, as examples of how targeted investments in data, governance, and capacity-building can catalyze action on the ground.

Speakers were united in their call for a shift in priorities: clean air must be fully integrated into climate and development agendas, and treated not just as an environmental challenge, but as a critical lever for improving health, advancing equity, and delivering measurable climate gains.

As the final event of the day, the session closed with a sense of urgency, but also of possibility. With strong political will and smart investment, clean air can move from a neglected issue to a global priority that delivers for people and the planet.

See photos from London Climate Action Week here.

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