--- description: Find out why David Lu is on TIME's 2025 list of the 100 most influential leaders driving business climate action. title: David Lu: The 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders of 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb6db09cf6df53a84/6998caf5e2d64b4366c5fcc1/Defenders-David-Lu.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 30, 2025 # David Lu Co-founder and CEO, Clarity Movement Co. by [Anna Fiorentino](/author/anna-fiorentino/) ## Anna Fiorentino Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Photo-Illustration by TIME (Courtesy Photo) Poor air quality is the leading [environmental threat](https://www.stateofglobalair.org/resources/report/state-global-air-report-2024 "undefined") to human health. According to a 2024 study, it accounted for 8.1 million deaths in 2021 worldwide. Toxic particulate matter from sources such as wildfire smoke can enter our bloodstream and brain, wreaking havoc on our bodies. It can [cause](https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/health-and-environmental-effects-particulate-matter-pm "undefined") heart and lung disease, trigger [new allergies](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949913524000120 "undefined"), and increase the risk of [cancer](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-025-02999-2 "undefined") or [stroke](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6250783/ "undefined"). Not only does burning fossil fuels release greenhouse gases that dangerously warm our atmosphere, it also produces harmful chemicals that pollute the air we breathe. That’s why David Lu developed the most accurate low-cost particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide monitor on the market. In 2014, his climate tech startup out of the University of California, Berkeley, called Clarity Movement, created a sensor the size of a tissue box that uses machine learning to model and accurately identify the source and level of air pollution, even when power and internet connection fail. The real-time sensors are more [affordable](https://shop.smartflow.mk/product/node-s-air-sensor/ "undefined") than the previous standard method of using a monitoring station to capture and measure local air pollution data. Lu’s solar-powered monitoring system, [Node-S Air Sensor](https://www.clarity.io/products/clarity-node-s "undefined"), has already been used in more than 85 countries to inform cities and communities about their pollution levels, helping them devise better ways to protect public health and grow responsibly. In 2020, London [leveraged](https://www.clarity.io/customer-stories/breathe-london#:~:text=To%20combat%20air%20pollution%2C%20London,%2C%20and%20policy%20decision-making. "undefined") the sensors to collect hyper-local pollution levels across the city to help inform its ultra low-emissions zones restricting car travel. And this August, Lu joined an emerging coalition in the Philippines capital city of Manila, where he plans to deploy his sensors to help mitigate their [air quality crisis](https://www.iqair.com/newsroom/manila-among-the-most-polluted-cities-in-the-world-9-8-2025 "undefined"). 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