Outdoor air pollution contributes to more than 4 million deaths globally each year, the vast majority of them in cities.

The same emissions that poison our air are also causing climate change. That is why the mayors of the world’s great cities are taking bold and urgent steps to tackle air pollution. From making it easier for people to travel on foot or bicycle, to replacing fleets of buses, rubbish trucks and police cars with low-emission vehicles, cities are finding unique solutions to improve the quality of the air that citizens breathe. Compact, well connected and pedestrian and cycle-friendly communities create less air pollution and therefore less greenhouse gas emissions, but are also healthier, more equal and economically prosperous.

Mayors, city officials and even citizens cannot make informed decisions about how to tackle air pollution unless they understand the sources of emissions and the likely impact of different options. As a network of 91 of the world’s leading cities committed to urgent action on climate change, C40 has a vital role in supporting cities to collect and use their data in the most effective ways possible. C40 is supporting this effort through its work with the TRUE initiative. The goal is simple: giving consumers more accurate information about the true levels of pollution that cars emit so they can make better informed decisions about which vehicles they drive. Creating sustainable, healthy and liveable cities requires urgent action, and this initiative is a crucial part of the global momentum for change underway on the streets of our cities.

Mark Watts
Executive Director
C40