The London-based Clean Air Fund has announced pledges totaling $67 million over four years from the IKEA Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) to help reduce air pollution globally.

The commitments of $40 million from the IKEA Foundation and $27 million from CIFF will bolster Clean Air Fund’s work to reduce air pollution significantly in at least eight countries and 55 cities. The fund also will encourage at least 75 multinational companies to commit to plans to reduce their air pollution footprints across their value chains. With air pollution disproportionately affecting those living in poverty, the fund will focus on working with grassroots communities to ensure that the benefits of clean air can be secured for all.

Clean Air Fund aims to raise a total of $250 million over the next four years for air quality programming. The organization is expanding its work, with a new office recently opened in Accra, Ghana; new EU initiatives underway in Brussels; and programming in South Africa due to begin in the coming year.

“The movement for clean air is at a critical juncture,” said Clean Air Fund founder and executive director Jane Burston. “Despite significant progress over the last four years, much more needs to be done to reduce air pollution, saving millions of lives, reducing enormous health harms, and mitigating climate change. This investment will accelerate our work in more countries, and help galvanize commitments from city leaders, governments, and the private sector to tackle air pollution.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Joel Carillet)