Many parts of the world now enjoy the cleanest air in centuries, proving that efforts to reduce pollution are working.
A new analysis highlights how countries that took strong action—including the United Kingdom’s Clean Air Act of 1956 and the United States' Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990—have significantly cut harmful emissions such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. These improvements have led to healthier populations, fewer respiratory diseases, and longer life expectancy.
The progress isn’t just in wealthy nations. Countries worldwide are adopting cleaner technologies, stricter regulations, and better urban planning to keep the air safe to breathe. Advances in renewable energy, emissions controls, and transportation policies continue to drive pollution levels down.
This success story is proof that when governments, scientists, and communities work together, environmental challenges can be solved. While air pollution is still a concern in some areas, the lesson is clear: with commitment and innovation, cleaner air is possible for everyone.
Low-to-middle-income countries can go through this transition much more quickly than the UK or the US because they can learn from the countries that have already done it. In the 1980s and 1990s, Europe and North America had to design commercial-scale technologies that could remove sulfur from coal plants. They had to bring these prices down. They had to design policies and trading systems from scratch. The countries that follow don’t face uncharted territory; they can take advantage of the successes and failures of the front-runners to do it cheaper and faster. Catching up is easier than leading the way.
unknownx500
/Passle/60211dc9e5416a0c14bc63d4/SearchServiceImages/2025-12-03-19-31-44-490-69309020a71bd983b528ca6c.jpg)
