Do we all breathe the same air?

Being able to breathe clean air should be a human right but, according to the World Health Organization 99% of the world’s population lives in areas exceeding safe pollution limits, which has huge impacts on public health. Air pollution, climate impacts, and social justice are three sides of the same issue, demanding an intersectional response that not only makes space for the voices of the most impacted, but also the most disenfranchised. 

Image Credit: Photo by Sai De Silva on Unsplash

Featured in this episode: The Great Smog of London, 1952, BBC Archive, Originally broadcast 5 December, 1962

Featured guests:
Agnes Agyepong is the founder and CEO of Global Black Maternal Health (GBMH), an organisation placing research and agency back into the hands of Black communities as change agents in their own health narratives. Key areas of research at GBMH include the impact of air pollution on Black women and their children. GBMH also supports the “Black Child Clean Air” initiative and the “Clean Air Wins” campaign.

Dolly Oladini is C40’s Senior Manager for Air Quality, bringing together global cities within the C40 Air Quality Network to share best practices and solutions for improving international air quality. Dolly previously worked as a senior policy officer for the mayor of London, where she promoted the T-Charge and Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) policies.

Links
The Cost of Fossil Gas: Policy Recommendations for a Clean Energy Transition and a Swift Gas Phase-out in Cities
A Pathway to Prioritizing and Delivering Healthy and Sustainable Cities
C40 Clean Air Accelerator
C40 Knowledge Hub - Air Quality Resources

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Peggy Whitfield and Chiara Morfeo.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/