Clean Air Asia, along with co-organizers, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), present the 12th Better Air Quality conference (BAQ 2026) to be held on 11-13 March 2026, with pre-events on 9-10 March, in Bangkok, Thailand.
The BAQ 2026 theme, Together for Clear Skies: Driving Action, Accelerating Investment, calls for collective progress on air quality across Asia and the Pacific. BAQ 2026 will convene a wider circle of stakeholders to shape and deliver better air quality outcomes to improve health and well-being and contribute to global climate goals, highlighting the importance of partnerships and investments to accelerate implementation of solutions on the ground.
Air pollution remains one of the region’s most urgent public health and environmental challenges, yet it also presents one of the greatest opportunities for collaboration, and climate and other co-benefits across sectors and economies. BAQ2026 supports the implementation of recent global and regional frameworks and outcomes of convenings supporting air quality improvement actions, including:
· United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) Resolution 6/10 promoting regional cooperation on air pollution to improve air quality globally and encouraging member states to implement national air quality programs
· WHO World Health Assembly in 2025 and the 2nd Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health setting a voluntary target to cut premature deaths caused by air pollution by 50% by 2040
· Asia-Pacific Regional Action Programme on Air Pollution (RAPAP) adopted by ESCAP’s member states, providing a framework for regional cooperation to improve air quality management
· Thimphu Outcome Towards Clean Air in the Indo-Gangetic Plain and Himalayan Foothills recommending South Asian countries consider an aspirational goal of <35 µg/m3 for annual PM2.5 concentrations by 2035 (“35 by 35”) for long term air quality planning
as well as the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution of 2002 and the Malé Declaration on Control and Prevention of Air Pollution and Its Likely Transboundary Effects for South Asia of 1998.
Clean air is a shared development goal, and it will take a wide coalition of effort including financial, technical, and institutional commitment to deliver lasting results. BAQ 2026 aims to catalyze transformative action, partnership, and investment, positioning clean air as a driver of sustainable growth and well-being across the region.
The objectives of the BAQ 2026 are to:
- Unlock financing and funding to support solutions that deliver long-term economic resilience and health benefits.
- Drive action and strengthen understanding and cooperation on scalable and integrated solutions to air pollution.
- Promote stronger sectoral and cross-sectoral partnerships to support actions on the ground and broaden the clean air community—connecting governments, technical experts, funders, the private sector, and advocates with a broader set of stakeholders and sectors—sensitizing more actors and catalyzing a paradigm shift for better air quality.
The BAQ is the leading event on air quality in Asia, covering control of all sources of air pollution including emissions from transport, energy, agriculture, waste, construction, and industry, with a particular emphasis on solutions including national- and city-level policies and measures. The BAQ has a proven history of influencing policies, initiating new projects, and establishing innovative partnerships. At the last BAQ, in 2023, more than 700 policymakers, practitioners and industry leaders from all over the world participated to network, learn, and share experiences.
BAQ 2026 is supported by the Pollution Control Department (PCD) of Thailand as co-host, the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) as local partner, and a group of regional experts as part of the Advisory Committee.
