The Ramphal Institute, a Commonwealth organization, has won project funding of £20,000 from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO, Delhi office) for continuing its work on air pollution. Following the recommendations from a successful international conference on air pollution in mega-cities held in September 2018, the Institute sketched out a new program on air pollution that sought to enhance Commonwealth policy and practical responses to the challenges this posed to human health, rural and urban livelihoods – particularly of women and marginalized groups, public transportation, as well as climate change. Over the past year, the Ramphal Institute has held a number of webinars examining these issues in greater detail.

The overall purpose of the new project is to improve urban air quality in Commonwealth countries. More specifically, the objectives are, among others, to catalyze the support of Commonwealth governments and civil society to join together at the 2021 meetings of Commonwealth Heads of Government in June in Kigali, and as global participants in COP-26 in Glasgow, to adopt goals for improved air quality as part of a drive for a greener, more sustainable world; and, to promote stronger networking within and across the Commonwealth, including among regional and national agencies operating in cities and urban centres badly afflicted by respiratory and other diseases as a result of poor air quality. It will also address the issue of the impact of air pollution on urban livelihoods, particularly those of women and marginalized groups.

Under the project, a number of policy briefs will be produced, as well as policy recommendations for submission to Commonwealth members for their consideration ahead of CHOGM 2021. Several additional webinars will also be convened including two focused on urban challenges in India, as well as one that contemplates policy actions for small island developing states in the Caribbean and Pacific regions of the Commonwealth.

Due to the global coronavirus pandemic, a second international conference initially scheduled for Delhi, India in 2021 will be shifted to a virtual conference in March 2021. These events are to be complimented by specific advocacy work around COP26 (currently planned for October 2021 in Glasgow) as well as other international platforms. Interested persons are asked to monitor the Ramphal Institutes website for news and regular updates on the various activities and outputs.