Mr Khan did not respond to questions about billionaires’ funding, but City Hall officials insisted that all eligible Ulez consultation responses had been taken into account.
Since 2013, CIFF has donated $827 million to climate related causes and Mr Bloomberg’s Bloomberg Philanthropies has given $502 million. The foundations work internationally.
There is a “money-go-round” where donations are passed from one organisation to another, and the funding of campaign groups is often unclear, says Ben Pile, a report author.
“Policies such as the Ulez should be driven by the public, not by billionaires whose interests have not been properly explored,” said Mr Pile.
A similar organisation to the global C40 cities network exists for local councils. The UK100 Cities Network requires authorities that join it to pledge to go further and faster than the Government on Net Zero. It is active in more than 100 councils.
An earlier version of its website stated it has received financial support from CIFF and the European Climate Foundation, which has in turn received money from Sir Christopher’s fund.
The report’s authors said: “The public must be at the centre of political decision-making across all policy domains.
“Though air pollution policies may seem to have been driven by grassroots campaigns and scientific evidence, we have investigated these organisations and found that they are in fact almost exclusively supported by a small number of philanthropic foundations that are active in climate change lobbying, which have made air quality a proxy issue for the same agenda.
“The public has simply not been consulted, much less been free to participate in discussion about or vote on important questions.”
‘Independent philanthropic organisation’
C40 Cities did not respond to questions about whether the cities it represents had been consulted on membership, but a spokesman said the organisation was “driven by a steering committee of mayors from across the globe which provides strategic oversight to ensure C40’s mission and mandate are directly driven by and responsive to the needs of C40 cities”.
UK100 Cities said it was “an independently run membership network and a not-for-profit private company limited by guarantee, without share capital. We are funded by various grant-giving organisations that support our mission to empower ambitious cross-party local leaders to tackle the climate emergency”.
A CIFF spokesman said it was “an independent philanthropic organisation” and registered charity, adding: “Climate change and air pollution pose two of the greatest threats to the future of today’s children and young people.
“We are committed to transparency in our grant-making and regularly provide public information about our work and grants through our website, annual report and social media.”
A spokesman for the Clean Air Fund said that it was a registered charity and reported its accounts to the regulator, adding: “Air pollution costs millions of lives every year. The Clean Air Fund partners with governments, funders, businesses and local communities to tackle it. Everyone deserves to breathe clean air.”
Sir Christopher was approached for comment.
