Pursuing Clean Air for All in a Changing Environment: Bridging Research to Action (Core Science Keynote)

Despite major progress on improving air quality in some countries over the last decades, many challenges persist. Globally, pollution levels remain elevated, and are even increasing in some parts of the world. Even in the United States, where national and regional average PM2.5 levels have been decreasing for years, communities of color and those with lower income and educational attainment levels remain overburdened by air pollution. Climate change is worsening ozone and PM2.5, and associated health risks are exacerbated from combined exposure to pollution, heat, and other climate-sensitive hazards. The last few years have seen rapid evolution in national and local-scale action to address greenhouse gases, air pollution, and environmental injustice. Novel data sources, such as satellites, statistical modeling, and high-resolution geophysical modeling, are also opening new avenues for exploring who is most at risk and which sources are contributing most to pollution in overburdened communities. This talk will address how these novel geospatial datasets can be leveraged to bridge research to action, and address health impacts and inequities associated with air pollution and climate change at municipal, national, and international scales.