Lessons Learned
What can we learn from these cities?
The diversity of the cities and their real-world solutions integrating public health show how every city can do something to promote clean air, climate and health now.
Accra, Barranquilla, Beijing, Jakarta, Kampala, and New York are cities with differing levels of socio-economic development. They have different sources and levels of pollution to address, and varying levels of air quality data and management capacity and resources. They are also at different points on their journey to clean air, with some of the cities are at a more advanced stage, showcasing measurable air quality and health benefits that they are proud of. This is evident in New York and Beijing, which have been working against air pollution for over a decade, and have achieved significant reductions in air pollution levels. Contrast this with Kampala and Barranquilla, which are only just starting their air quality efforts but have managed to leverage health sector engagement to build momentum and make sustainable change.
Overall, we discuss the key learnings below.
Expand the innovative collection and use of air quality data
Air quality monitoring should be fit to purpose, and carefully designed to address questions prioritized by the city.
While air quality monitoring is a critical first step in clean air action, it need not follow the traditional path of relying on reference grade monitors. There are a range of lower cost and innovative solutions available. Air quality monitoring systems can integrate data from a range of sources at different spatial resolutions, including remote sensing data from satellites, gravimetric samplers that can also identify leading sources of pollution, and low-cost sensor networks. In the case of New York, they also relied on land use regression to determine air quality levels where there were no monitors.
Resources need to be invested for the analysis and communication of data.
Simply providing the data for technical stakeholders is insufficient. Data must be publicly available and accessible to a wide range of audiences. To maximize data use, key stakeholders need to be constantly reminded about the data being collected, and shown its relevance for decision-making and informing the public.
Photo Above: Screengrab from the New York City Environmental Health Data Portal, which makes abundant data, stories and knowledge about environmental and climate health.
Characterizing trends in the leading sources of pollutant emissions is critical to prioritizing control measures.
This should include consideration of leading local sources of pollution, as well as the contribution from regional sources, including agricultural burning, desert dust, or industries located outside city limits.
Photo Above: In recognition that air pollution is a transboundary issue, the Jakarta city government and its surrounding cities signed a joint commitment in June 2023 to improve air quality in the entire region.
Integrate health data and messaging
Effective health messaging will resonate with a wide range of stakeholders, from community members to high-level decision makers.
Integrated data from air quality monitors and routinely collected health data has many applications and uses. They can be used to communicate the health impacts of air pollution at a local level. Once there is a general awareness of the links between air pollution and health, stakeholders are often keen on getting more quantitative estimates of potential health gains of proposed actions. Emphasizing health benefits of clean air action can be an effective way of gaining public support for proposed actions. In some cases, it may also help promote behavior change needed at the community level, for example, to reduce waste burning.
Health data provides the ability to quantify expected short-term benefits of climate and clean air action, which are often more tangible than longer-term impacts on climate which may not be realized for decades.
Quantifying the potential health benefits can increase the political will and the investment case for proposed interventions. This is particularly true when bundled with estimates of other desired benefits, such as climate co-benefits, increased pedestrian access or more green space. At the same time, residents are interested in the wide range of social, economic, and lifestyle benefits associated with clean air and climate action and should be made aware of how actions will affect them and their families over the short and long term.
Health data should be used to evaluate the impact of clean air and climate actions.
The widespread communication of successes and results can redirect attention and demand for the most effective solutions.
Photo Above: Barranquilla has converted 333,000 sq meters of their hard urban spaces into green spaces for exercise, play and relaxation. 21,000 trees were also planted on these spaces.
Establish good governance and coordination
Strong legislation and systematic planning is necessary to ensure that air pollution interventions are effectively implemented
More importantly, these new laws must be coupled with effective regulation and enforcement.
Cross-sector collaboration and coordination is critical.
As climate and air pollution are multi-sectorial issues, an effective multi-stakeholder system is needed. This includes health authorities, environmental agencies, transport, energy, manufacturing and enforcement. Cities need a cooperative setting with well-established mechanisms of knowledge sharing across agencies so that all stakeholders involved are aware of their roles and responsibilities to achieve the objectives of the program.
Support from high-level officials is paramount in aligning institutional goals.
This will ensure the achievement of workflow synergies across sectors, facilitates both downstream and upstream transfer of critical data and institutional resource needs in a self-sustaining way.
Encouraging sustainable results is crucial.
This may require a collaborative approach, long-term goals, consistent funding and resources, and public awareness.
Targeted advocacy and consistent communication are essential
Leverage innovative means to elevate the importance of clean air to lawmakers.
In the case of Indonesia, the victory from the citizen’s lawsuit has been a significant step in making air quality a political priority. It also highlights the importance of citizen and human rights as a cornerstone to demanding change.
Financial incentives should not only be reserved for industries but also for citizens.
For instance in Beijing, citizens received subsidies for switching from coal to gas for heating. And in New York, financial assistance was offered to building owners for converting to cleaner fuel technology. Incentives can be paired with public education to encourage citizens to change their behaviors and lifestyle. When they understand the full benefits of these changes, the public can not only more easily adapt to the change but also advocate for change.
Communication should be targeted to specific groups and address their concerns and vulnerabilities.
For example, people in specific occupations, parents of young children, people living with underlying health conditions or people residing in areas of high pollution may all have different concerns.
Consistent engagement with media is critical for maintaining public interest and momentum.
For example, Accra used television, radio and print media to effectively communicate climate and air pollution impacts which in turn led to a measurable uptick in air pollution stories being featured in the local media.
Conclusion
Each of these cities are fundamentally different and has had to develop their own set of unique actions to advance their climate and clean air plans. These efforts are already serving as blueprints for other cities in their regions. For example, many African city representatives are travelling to Accra to learn about their successes so they can replicate them in their own cities. A common theme among all the showcased cities has been their engagement of the health sector and their active use of health data and messaging to accelerate support for climate and clean air solutions. When we can prove there are immediate health benefits, people will be motivated to act for a better climate and a healthier future.