Episode Introduction 

Everyone has the right to breathe clean air. Yet, every year, the health of millions of people is threatened by air pollution. So what needs to happen to ensure all people enjoy clean air, blue skies and better health? Jane Burston, Executive Director of the Clean Air Fund, speaks with Liz McKeon, our Climate Action Portfolio Lead, about the economic impact of air pollution and clean air solutions. 

Guest Bio  

Jane Burston runs the Clean Air Fund, a global re-granting institution funding projects to improve air quality. Previously she worked as Head of Climate and Energy Science in the UK Government, responsible for the UK greenhouse gas inventory and a £45m science programme. She managed a team of 150 scientists working in air quality, greenhouse gas measurement and renewable energy. Jane has been named as a ‘Young Global Leader’ of the World Economic Forum, as one of the ‘40 under 40 European Young Leaders’ by Friends of Europe and is a previous UK Social Entrepreneur of the year. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

The economic impact of air pollution: Jane Burston, Executive Director at the Clean Air Fund, and Rain Newton-Smith, Chief Economist at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), have shown that you can indeed put a price on clean air. See report: 
https://www.cleanairfund.org/blog-post/can-we-put-a-price-on-clean-air-yes-we-can/     

To know more about Clean Air Fund’s partnership with IKEA Foundation:  

https://ikeafoundation.org/story/making-clean-air-a-human-right/ 

https://ikeafoundation.org/story/with-an-eye-on-children-the-ikea-foundation-is-stepping-up-its-work-on-climate-change/ 

https://ikeafoundation.org/story/clean-air-healthier-lives/ 

Show credits: 

Host: Altaf Makhiawala, Strategic Communicator, IKEA Foundation 

Executive Producer: Truus Huisman, Chief Communication Officer  

Researcher: Indra Heerkens, Strategic Communicator, IKEA Foundation 

An Andy Clark Media Production for the IKEA Foundation 

Programming Note:  

This conversation was recorded as part of the Ask An Expert series livestreamed online on 10 September 2020. This is an edited and produced version of the conversation for this podcast. YouTube link to the original video conversation.  

Want to contact the show? Reach out at wehearyou@ikeafoundation.org 

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Learn more about IKEA Foundation: www.ikeafoundation.org