What’s new: The American Lung Association released its annual State of the Air report last month, showing that climate change is making it more difficult to clean up our polluted air. About one-third of all Americans were breathing unhealthy air in 2023—a greater number than in year’s past, despite gains made through ever improving vehicle, industrial, and oil and gas emissions standards. And while these air pollution trends are another indication that a warming planet is having a negative impact on our daily lives, we still have tools within reach that can help improve air quality for millio ..read more

What’s new: EDF released a report this week, Illinois Warehouse Boom, which examines the growth of mega-warehouses and their health impacts in communities across Illinois, building on its recent research in New York. The launch event featured a report overview by EDF authors, personal accounts from community advocates and remarks from three state legislators (see full recording above). The report finds that at least one in six Illinois residents now lives within half a mile of a large warehouse of at least 100,000 square feet. Other key findings include: More than 2 million Illinois resident ..read more

A panel discussion hosted by the Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (CEMDA) on the health impacts of the oil and gas sector on communities across Mexico. Photo by Veronica Southerland. What’s new: EDF’s Global Clean Air team was proud to launch the Sall Methane and Health project in March of 2024, a new collaboration funded by the Sall Family Foundation to track the health impacts of methane emitted by the oil and gas industry in Mexico. Key partners in the project include: The Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (CEMDA), a civil society organization that works to strengthen legal protecti ..read more

EDF’s Global Clean Air team examines local air quality management data with local government partners in Brazil. Photo by Sergio Sanchez. What’s new: EDF’s Global Clean Air (GCA) team met earlier this month with a working group within Brazil’s national government charged with updating the country’s air quality standards. EDF is providing technical support to the group, led by Brazil’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA), to overhaul the country’s air quality management strategy, aiming to establish stricter standards. The purpose of the new strategy is to align Brazil’s air qualit ..read more

University of York mobile laboratory for measuring ambient air pollution (Photo taken by Shona Wilde). New study shows just how much congestion intensifies emissions from diesel vehicles   In a recently published study, researchers from the University of York and Environmental Defense Fund show how traffic exacerbates nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution from road vehicles, in particular from intense emitters like diesel trucks and buses, pointing to solutions that can bring an outsize benefit to air quality.   Comparing pollution with targeted monitoring   EDF and York ..read more

The EPA’s new soot standard will bring significant health benefits to all populations across the United States, including children. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) soot rules just got a lot stronger. On February 7, the agency lowered the national limit of annual fine particle pollution—or soot—to 9 micrograms per cubic meter, down from 12, taking a vital step forward for clean air, public health and environmental justice. According to EPA’s own estimates, the new standard will result in 4,500 fewer deaths, 800,000 fewer asthma attacks and up to $46 billion in net health benefi ..read more

Addressing the enormous funding disparity for clean air solutions is essential to achieving global health, climate and sustainable development goals. Air pollution affects almost everyone and carries severe consequences for public health, the environment and our climate, yet efforts to combat it are severely underfunded, especially in Latin America and the Global South. Less than 1% of development funding goes to air quality programming each year. When leaders meet at the Sixth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) at the end of February in Nairobi, we have the opportunit ..read more

What’s new: A new report released today by EDF and ElectrifyNY traces the growth of mega-warehouses–and their health impacts–in communities across New York State, driven in-part by the e-commerce boom. One in four New York State residents now lives within half a mile of a large warehouse of at least 50,000 square feet. Click here to read the full report. Other key findings include: 4.8 million state residents in total live within half a mile of a leased warehouse of at least 50,000 square feet. Of those, 315,000 are under age five and 649,000 are over age 64. Black, Hispanic/Latino and l ..read more

The Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean convenes in Panama City, Panama in October 2023. The Forum plays a crucial role in shaping and building consensus around environmental policies. What’s new: The ministers of environment representing 33 countries in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region recently issued a joint declaration calling out the yawning gap between the funds needed to address the global air pollution crisis and the funds currently committed. The declaration is noteworthy because it has set a tone for influential global dialogues happeni ..read more

The Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean convenes in Panama City, Panama in October 2023. The Forum plays a crucial role in shaping and building consensus around environmental policies. What’s new: The ministers of environment representing 33 countries in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region recently issued a joint declaration calling out the yawning gap between the funds needed to address the global air pollution crisis and the funds currently committed. The declaration is noteworthy because it has set a tone for influential global dialogues happeni ..read more