Urban Air Pollution Project: Action Planning Workshop

Background

The Asia-Pacific region is rapidly urbanising. Predictably, the region will become mostly urban within the next decades. The exponential urban expansion increases infrastructure development and energy consumption, high demands for fossil fuel in the transport sector and improper waste management, all of which unavoidably contribute to increased air pollution. As a result, air pollution is a significant public health hazard for many cities in the region, leading to a rise in premature deaths, threatening livelihoods and overall progress on sustainable development. Furthermore, ESCAP research has shown that air pollution results in damages that disproportionately impact low-income and marginalised communities, further intensifying income inequalities.

In response to this need, cities must take urgent action to address air pollution. Ambitious targets can be met if local action is accelerated through evidence-based plans and improved vertical and horizontal collaboration.

Urban Air Pollution Mitigation Project

The Urban Air Pollution Mitigation project seeks to fight air pollution by identifying ways to apply science-based clean air measures to identify sources of pollution. The overall project objectives are to:

• Increase knowledge base of air pollution in the region
• Build capacity to mitigate air pollution at the city level
• Enhance policies to mitigate air pollution at the city level

ESCAP will provide tools and a methodology to use innovative data, machine learning and forecasting to identify the primary sources of air pollution. The project will also provide a draft manual and approach to developing city-level, science-based, air-pollution mitigation policy action plans. To disseminate results, ESCAP will organise a regional  knowledge exchange workshop to validate the methodology, share the plans, and to enhance regional cooperation in tackling air pollution.

Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of this planning workshop is to bring together key urban air pollution stakeholders from different cities throughout the region to exchange knowledge, learn how to create air pollution Action Plans, and to find solutions for their own city.

The primary workshop objectives are to:

• Share information and knowledge from the project and selected cities in the region on their air quality management issues and priorities
• Present a process for creating a city level air pollution action plan[1];
• Define city-specific thematic areas and/or interventions. Working-groups will be formed to match the evidence with the interventions from the 25 Clean Air Measures for Asia and the Pacific[2];
• List priority actions and instruments and begin to complete elements of a draft Action Plan which will mature with the ESCAP's support and be used as an example for cities across the Asia-Pacific region.

Outcomes

The expected outcomes of this event include:

• Identification of cities interested in continuing to develop and refine their action plans with ESCAP’s support.
• Improved understanding of air pollution sources, pathways and possible hotspots both within and outside the City.
• Enhanced knowledge of how to mitigate air pollution within the City
• Increased capacity to act to determine policies and activities to combat air pollution
• Better understanding of the City's role in national/regional advocacy efforts

Stakeholders and Participants

The action planning workshop aims to bring together key local and provincial stakeholders to review past work and identify critical gaps.

Interpretation

The workshop content will feature live interpretation in Bahasa, Khmer, Malay, Russian, Thai and Viet Namese.