Jane Burston, CEO, Clean Air Fund, reflects on a marathon week of strategy, diplomacy and partnership-building.

Monday

I'm up at 6am for a Times Radio interview. Testing hotel internet before going live is stressful, but it goes well. I talk about super pollutants – things like methane and black carbon (soot) that don't hang around in the atmosphere as long as CO2, but they trap far more heat while they're there. Tackling them gives us quick wins on both climate and health. My message? Air pollution and climate change mostly come from the same source: burning fossil fuels. Fix one, you fix both. Action on super pollutants can cut temperatures four times faster than on carbon dioxide alone, and reduce the harm air pollution is doing to our health at the same time.

By 10am I'm meeting a major retailer who's part of our Alliance for Clean Air. When big companies commit, others follow. Supply chains shift. This is what we've been working towards – getting businesses to act when the health evidence has been staring us in the face for years.

Tuesday

World Economic Forum breakfast. I'm making the economic case to business leaders: air pollution costs $6 trillion a year in health costs. That’s a 5% reduction of global GDP. Lives cut short, people off sick and more hospital visits.

Mid-morning I'm meeting with the CEO of one of our strategic funders. It’s good to hear about their new strategy and how we can support.

Our evening reception is packed. We’re doing it with key partners Global Methane Hub and Super Pollutant Action Alliance. I give brief opening remarks. Then two hours of great chats and a bit of dancing. This is how change actually happens – not in the formal negotiating rooms, but in these margins. Brief exchanges that lead to concrete projects, new partnerships and stronger relationships that can weather inevitable future challenges.

Wednesday

On a call at 6.30am discussing organisational strategy with our team. Even at COP, you can't let the day-to-day slide. Once safely at COP, the heavens open – rain dripping into the press room. But our super pollutants event is packed. Ministers and scientists debating research we've spent months on. This is what I love: taking important but complex data and making it useful for decision-makers. Giving leaders the evidence they need to accelerate action. And they are – at our event nine countries make a first-of-its-kind announcement on their plans to measure, set targets and cut emissions of super pollutant black carbon. This will bring profound benefits for people’s health and our planet.

Outside, protests are getting serious. By evening there's a riot at the entrance. This COP feels different – urgent, messy, real.

Thursday

It's Health Day. My session connects the numbers to actual people. I talk about our grantees – the organisations doing the hard work. Campaigns in Bulgaria that used data to pressure their mayor into action. Projects in China mapping pollution hotspots. Cities like Mexico City and Jakarta switching to electric buses. This is our approach: fund local work that can spread. Cities testing solutions that countries can adopt.

Friday

Meetings with ministers. Presentations about how funding and data can create change. A broadcast interview about how the first week at COP went and what to expect in the second. By evening I'm shattered but head off to one last drinks event. The promised brief speeches are not so brief, but I met a lot of new interesting people. Great networking.

Saturday

My last session: on a regional action plan for tackling air pollution in Latin America and the Caribbean. I spoke about the work we supported to assess the integration of air pollution and health into countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and how Colombia’s NDC was ranked #1 worldwide for considering health benefits of climate action. Then I'm packing for home and dashing to the airport.

When I get home, I’m looking forward to going for a long run. I love exercising outdoors, and this week, the time and weather (35C and 90% humidity) haven’t been conducive.

This week has been its own kind of marathon. The preparation required – building initiatives over many months prior; the early mornings - for calls and press interviews; and the long days that required endurance, and pacing. It’s a relief to close out the fortnight, and after a short reprieve I can’t wait to rejoin the team to turn this momentum into lasting progress for people and planet.

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