This session, titled Climate Change and Air Pollution, will feature the presentation of two key initiatives linking environmental health, science, and policy in Latin America. The first, the SALURBAL – Salud Urbana en América Latina (Urban Health in Latin America) project, is a leading regional collaboration coordinated by the Drexel Urban Health Collaborative, bringing together partners across Latin America and the United States. Funded by the Wellcome Trust under its Our Planet, Our Health program, SALURBAL examines how urban environments and policies influence the health of city residents throughout Latin America, generating evidence to inform public policies and interventions for healthier, more equitable, and more sustainable cities.
The session will also present the book What the Air Told Us: Stories behind four decades of air quality monitoring, policy, and climate change in Mexico, authored by Ruth Wouters and Carlos Sánchez Rivas. The book explores Mexico’s four-decade journey to understand and improve its air quality through the voices of scientists, policymakers, and civic leaders. Blending science, policy, and human experience, it highlights how data, perseverance, and collaboration have shaped environmental progress and connected air quality with the broader fight against climate change.