Invest in clean air immediately
Japan – Hosted the Fifth Asia-Pacific Clean Air Partnership Joint Forum
From March 20th to 21st, 2025, the fifth Asia-Pacific Clean Air Partnership Joint Forum was held in Yokohama, Japan, with the theme of “Invest in Clean Air Now”. The forum aims to report on the current status of air quality in the Asia-Pacific region, share innovative solutions for reducing emissions with climate synergy benefits, promote discussions on the next stage of the Clean Air Partnership in the Asia-Pacific, inspire and accelerate clean air actions, and provide an important platform for cooperation and exchanges among countries in the region in air governance
Name: The Fifth Fifth Asia Pacific Clean Air Partnership Joint Forum
Date: March 20th to 21st, 2025
Location: Yokohama, Japan
Subject: “Invest in Clean Air Now”
Background
The Asia-Pacific region remains the forefront in the fight against air pollution. Many countries in this region continue to experience high concentrations of environmental fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution. Although measures have been taken in various sub-regions to reduce air pollution, the level of environmental air pollution in most cities remains high. Improving air quality can not only bring significant public health benefits, but also help address other global crises such as climate change and sustainable development.
At the sixth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) held in February 2024, member states adopted the Resolution on Promoting Regional Cooperation to Improve Global Air Quality (UNEA 6/10), further emphasizing the important role of regional cooperation in addressing air pollution. The Asia-Pacific Clean Air Partnership (APCAP), as one of the regional initiatives, is committed to strengthening international cooperation in the field of air quality in the Asia-Pacific region. APCAP and the Climate and Clean Air Alliance (CCAC) jointly developed the report “Air Pollution in the Asia-Pacific Region: Science-based Solutions”, which proposed 25 clean air measures, with a focus on high-impact industries that can simultaneously improve air quality and climate. However, insufficient funds are one of the main obstacles to effective actions to prevent and control air pollution. Although air pollution has caused significant harm to the economy, the Earth and human health, the Clean Air campaign still faces the problem of insufficient funds for a long time. Therefore, it is urgently necessary to mobilize large-scale investment to support industry emission reduction measures at the local level in order to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
The 5th Asia-Pacific Clean Air Partnership Joint Forum will be held in Yokohama, Japan from March 20th to 21st, 2025, in a hybrid format of online and offline. This forum, with the theme of “Invest in Clean Air Immediately”, echoes the fifth “International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies” and is hosted by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan.
Objective
To support Resolution 6/10 of the Sixth United Nations Environment Assembly, “Promoting Regional Cooperation to Improve Global Air Quality”, the Fifth Asia-Pacific Clean Air Partnership Joint Forum aims to:
1. Report on Progress: Introduce the current situation of air quality in the Asia-Pacific region and affirm the progress made at all levels in responding to air pollution.
2. Share Experiences: Exchange and share innovative emission reduction solutions with climate synergy benefits, with a focus on legislation, technology and financing areas.
3. Plan for the future: Promote discussions on the next stage of APCAP’s work, including future activities and directions.
4. Incentivizing Actions: Through regional and cross-regional cooperation, incentivize and accelerate clean air actions.
Expected outcome
The forum will integrate key information, discussions and suggestions to form the “APCAP Phase III Roadmap”. This roadmap will serve as the main reference document for the next stage of APCAP and provide support for the “Progress Report on the Implementation of UNEA Resolution 6/10” to be submitted at the 7th United Nations Environment Assembly in December 2025. In addition, the outcomes of the forum will also contribute to the commemoration activities of the sixth “International Day of Clean Air and Blue Skies” in September 2025.