Breathe Life: the challenge of clean air for all

An estimated 92% of the world’s population now living in areas where air quality exceeds World Health Organization limits causing 3 million deaths a year. While urban living provides benefits with regard to mobility, accessibility and community, it has come at a cost to the air we breathe. In particular, many developing world cities are grappling with the combined pressures of urbanization, motorization and industrialization and climate-related weather events which are overwhelming the natural resilience of urban ecosystems.Given these multiple challenges what action can cities take to achieve clean air, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, implement the New Urban Agenda and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals This presentation discusses the urban air quality challenge and the action needed to achieve air and climate co-benefits.