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2 November 2026

Knowledge Global

Sustaining Long-Term Policy Progress Towards Cleaner Air

Across the globe, cities are setting bold, ambitious targets to tackle air pollution, mitigate climate change, and protect the health of all residents. Yet, the path to cleaner air is rarely predictable. Priorities change, economic conditions shift, and new challenges emerge. Achieving lasting progress requires more than effective policies; it requires the resilience and capacity to keep moving forward in a changing environment.

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The path toward cleaner air is not always easy. City leaders are often tested by political, economic, social, and technical hurdles. However, by anchoring action in strong foundations and long-term planning, cities can build the resilience needed to overcome these inevitable challenges and drive lasting change.

This policy brief draws on insights shared by cities during two Breathe Cities global workshops in 2025, which together convened 20 cities in Johannesburg (May 2025) and Bangkok (September 2025), to explore the types of activities city teams need to undertake to sustain long-term progress towards air quality policy goals. These practical municipal insights are complemented with wider examples from leading cities across C40’s Clean Air Network.

Designed as a practical guide for air quality professionals in municipalities of any size, this brief covers the why and how for six essential building blocks, alongside questions for reflection, real city examples, and links to further resources. In the full report, case studies from London and Mexico City further illustrate how building capabilities in one area helps catalyse and drive progress in others.

Highlights

Achieving lasting progress requires cities to build the institutional resilience and capacity needed to keep moving forward through changing political and economic conditions.

No municipality can solve air pollution in isolation; sustained action relies on cross-government collaboration, regional coordination, and an active ecosystem of community champions.

Cities do not need to start from scratch. Anchoring action in robust data, viable finance strategies, and measurable community benefits ensures ambitious goals become enduring policy.

Compass icon representing strategic direction, long-term vision, and political commitment for clean air policy.

Clear long-term vision and political commitment

Sustaining progress towards cleaner air begins with a long-term goal on air quality and a clear understanding of how this will support the city's wider vision for the future. Understanding priority areas and levers for action helps establish political commitment and inter-departmental buy-in, which is essential for securing the resources and support needed to sustain action despite competing pressures.

Spotlight on Bogotá: Through sustained political leadership on air quality and its ambitious PlanAire, Bogota is transforming the city, delivering Latin America’s longest cycle network, new cable car lines and a massive electric bus fleet, earning the city a 2025 Earth Shot Prize.

Global community and public network icon representing international clean air coalitions.

Strong cross-government collaboration frameworks and governance

Taking a cross-government approach helps sustain progress by integrating valuable data, expertise, and financial resources. Progress that benefits all residents depends on collaborative action across sectors, from transport to welfare, housing to health, requiring both horizontal integration across city hall and vertical coordination across government levels.

Spotlight on Quezon City: By establishing a cross-departmental air quality plan and working group, and engaging in regional partnerships, Quezon City is ensuring data, resources and expertise are shared to support action against both local and transboundary air pollution.

Data and evidence analytics icon showing a line chart with connected nodes, representing air quality monitoring metrics.

Robust data and evidence

By investing in the city's capacity to measure, analyse, and communicate air quality data, cities can build a clear picture of pollution and how residents are impacted by it. Combining this information with additional datasets (such as health, demographic, social, and spatial data) helps target policy resources to where they can have the greatest impact.

Spotlight on Accra: By leveraging partnerships, combining low-cost sensors and reference monitors, and building an open-access portal, Accra has established an air quality monitoring network that informs targeted policy design and puts data in the hands of residents.

Empowered communities icon showing three interconnected people joined in a circle, representing advocacy networks and grassroots support.

Ecosystem of empowered communities, allies and advocates

Building a diverse ecosystem of allies and partners beyond city government helps secure a policy's success and longevity by ensuring there is widespread acceptance and sustained demand for ambitious, inclusive clean air action. Engaging affected communities throughout the decision-making process builds trust and buy-in, empowering residents as clean air champions.

Spotlight on Jakarta: Participatory focus groups with street vendors, healthcare workers, and women’s groups, ensured Jakarta’s low emission zone plans responded to the priorities and needs of vulnerable residents.

Finance mobilisation icon depicting hands protecting stacked coins, representing clean air funding strategies.

Strategy for finance mobilisation

While a policy serves to capture a city's vision or intent, a finance plan is the practical means to enact it. Since municipal budgets are often limited, cities typically cannot rely solely on existing internal resources; innovative finance strategies are required to ensure project bankability and sustainability beyond initial construction.

Spotlight on Guadalajara: By collaborating with external experts to estimate costs and identify specific funding sources, Guadalajara developed a clear, collaborative financing strategy to secure the resources needed to implement its clean air zone.

Plan to showcase the benefits of action

Assessing and communicating the early impacts of air quality action is essential, not only for evaluating and fine-tuning a policy, but also for demonstrating proof of concept. Measuring impacts that resonate with people's lives, such as how the policy is improving health or public transport access, helps build public support and momentum for future action.

Spotlight on Paris: Having permanently pedestrianised and greened around 300 school streets, Paris plans to track before and after reductions in NO2, noise and heat exposure to build community support and make the case for continuation and expansion.

These building blocks should not be viewed as sequential steps, but as interconnected elements that each support sustained action across the entire policy process. While this brief examines city action on each of these elements in turn, it is the sum of the action across different building blocks that truly helps to strengthen the foundations for long-term progress.

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