Air Quality Workshop to Take up Climate Change Mitigation and Scale up Solutions for Asia’s Cities

MANILA, 3 November, 2008:. Asia now has an estimated 2,500 cities with populations of over 100,000 – yet less than 20% of the cities are monitoring air quality and fewer are taking action to reduce air pollution.

At the same time, the enormous global attention on climate change, intensified by the recent Beijing Olympic Games, is increasing pressure on the big air polluters -- energy, transport and industrial sources -- to curb air pollution and the emission of greenhouse gases .

The need to integrate air quality management and climate change mitigation, as well as to scale up solutions to tackle the immense air pollution challenges of Asia will be the theme of the Better Air Quality (BAQ) 2008 workshop to be held in Bangkok from November 12 to 14.

Government policy makers and other stakeholders will be among the expected 900 participants at the workshop. The organizers of the event are the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the Pollution Control Department of Thailand and the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities Asia (CAI-Asia). Co-organizers are the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. 

The theme is timely as most of Asia’s cities are expected to make policy and investment decisions on their transport and energy supply structures that will lock them into specific greenhouse gas and air pollution scenarios for next 20 to 30 years.

“The overwhelming attention to climate change offers great potential for the air quality community in Asia to embrace a ‘co-benefits approach’ that integrates air quality management with climate change mitigation,” says Cornie Huizenga, executive director of the CAI-Asia Center, one of the main organizers of the meeting. “It is important now to identify, through research and discussion, measures that can reap such win-win benefits and those that will bring about trade-offs for air quality and climate change.”

Furthermore, discussions at BAQ 2008 will help generate a consensus on how Asian cities can take a more active role in climate change mitigation by adopting this co-benefits approach.

Highlights of the event will be a Governmental Meeting that is expected to reach consensus on a long-term vision for urban air quality in Asia until 2030 and the handing out of the first Kong Ha Award for Excellence in Air Quality Management to Mr. Shi Hanmin, Director General Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau for his efforts before, during and after the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics to clean up the air in Beijing.

The meeting will also include a Thai plenary session during which measures will be discussed to further improve air quality in Bangkok. Once a highly polluted city, Bangkok has earned praise for its success in dramatically improving its air quality.

Detailed information for media:
Media contact persons:

  • Ian Gill, BAQ media coordinator BAQ 2008, ian.gill@cai-asia.org,  phone + 66 8-1556-3195 – (from 10 November )
  • Cornie Huizenga, Executive Director CAI-Asia Center, cornie.huizenga@cai-asia.org, + 66 8 5909-906 (from 9 November )
  • Saensook Satongkunaha, Director of Public Relation Division ( kamo_yam@yahoo.com)  and Ms.Yodrudee Patarmasukon, Head of Public Relations Sub division, Department of Environment ( PRENVIR-BMA2@hotmail.com) BMA, + 66 8-16363229 (Yodrudee Patarmasukon)
  • Ms. Nanatawan V. Singhakachen, PCD – BAQ media coordinator,  nantawan.v@pcd.go.th,  phone + 66 - 2-298-2375

BAQ 2008 Venue: Imperial Queens Part Hotel, 199 Sukhumvit Soi 22, Bangkok 10110, Thailand, Tel: +66 (0) 2261 9000

BAQ 2008 workshop program: www.baq2008.org/program.

BAQ 2008 Press conferences: 

  • 12 November 10.00 - 10.45 am. :  Panel with speakers BAQ 2008 opening plenary and Winner first Kong Ha Award for Excellence in Air Quality Management: Mr. Shi Hanmin, Director General Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau.
  • 13 November 10.00 – 10.45 am.: Panel with senior representatives from Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and Pollution Control Department on Air Quality Management and Climate Change Mitigation in Bangkok and Thailand.
  • Other press conferences to be announced.