Background
Amid rapid technological progress, the Asia-Pacific region is harnessing digital innovation to tackle some of its most urgent environmental and public health challenges. Despite increasing ground-based monitoring stations and geospatial data capacity, air quality management remains important development agenda, in particular, in the rapid economic growth and demographic transitions toward ageing societies.
The CASA project has pioneered a paradigm shift to intelligent, technology-driven solutions, leveraging AI-powered pollution forecasting, satellite data analytics including global platforms like Google Earth Engine and Sentinel Hub, real-time monitoring infrastructure through Air Quality Monitoring Stations (AQMS) connected to cloud-based dashboards, cutting-edge data visualization techniques, and early warning systems like the Haze Gazer developed by UN Global Pulse Lab Jakarta that protect vulnerable populations during pollution events.
To achieve the goal to address air pollutions by leveraging digital technologies and data, the project, in collaboration with regional partners, organized four capacity-building workshops in Manila, Philippines (July 2024), Vientiane, Lao PDR (April 2025), Bali, Indonesia (November 2025), and Cebu, Philippines (May 2026). These events have provided opportunities to enhance technical knowledge and capacity, targeting government officials, environmental specialists, and data scientists from across ASEAN member States through policy dialogues and hands-on training for the application of these technologies. The workshops demonstrated a clear progression from introducing digital technology fundamentals to providing advanced training in AI pollution source identification, satellite imagery analysis, building prediction models, and creating real-time dashboards with sample data from participants' own countries.
In addition, the project organized the "first High-level Forum on Emerging Technology for Tackling Air Pollution and Climate Change", on 3 September 2024, Astana, Kazakhstan during the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Digital Inclusion and Transformation (APMCDIT), inviting senior delegations of the ESCAP member States and representatives. It enhanced the visibility of the ASEAN Secretariat, the ASEAN-Korean Cooperation Fund and the Government of the Republic of Korea. Senior officials from ASEAN Member States including Cambodia, the Philippines, and Thailand, delivered the keynote speeches and secured the high level commitment in regional cooperation to address air pollution challenges.
Against this background, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), with support from the ASEAN Secretariat, the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund (AKCF), Seoul National University and partner organizations plans to convene the "Second High-level Forum Digital Technology and Data for Clean Air" on 8-9 September 2026 in Seoul, Republic of Korea, back-to-back with the "International Conference for Responding Transboundary Air Pollution and the High-level Forum on Digital Technology for Clean Air", in conjunction with the "7th anniversary of the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies" on 8 September 2026.
The High-level Forum also supports the implementation of the "Baku-Bangkok Declaration on Strengthening Regional Cooperation for Social Development in Asia and the Pacific" adopted on 24 April 2026 at the 82nd session of the ESCAP Commission with the theme: "Leaving no one behind: advancing a society for all ages in Asia and the Pacific."
The International Conference for Responding Transboundary Air Pollution will focuses on economic, technological and policy responses to transboundary air pollution and short-lived climate pollutants, which is co-organized with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea (ROK MOFA), and the UNEP Climate & Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), as a platform to promote dialogues among governments, international organizations and the private sector.
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Contact Persons:
<ESCAP IDD>
Gaston Maria Melo Felgueres (Mr.)
Associate Expert
ICT and Development Section (IDS)
ICT and Disaster Risk Reduction Division (IDD)
E-mail: escap-ids@un.org with cc to gaston.melofelgueres@un.org
Tae Hyung Kim (Mr.)
Chief
ICT and Development Section (IDS)
ICT and Disaster Risk Reduction Division (IDD)
E-mail: escap-ids@un.org with cc to kimt@un.org
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific