The Second Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health of the World Health Organization (CCAC

The second day of the meeting kicked off with a plenary session to discuss the key themes that would be the focus of the entire day.
3. Plenary Session: Improving Air Quality and Accelerating Clean Energy to Save Lives – Multi-sectoral collaboration among health sector leaders and at local, national and regional levels
The second day of the conference kicked off with a plenary session to explore the key themes of the day’s focus: air pollution sources affecting human health, the role of governments at all levels in designing and implementing effective policies to address these pollution sources, effective strategies for intra-governmental and inter-governmental cooperation, and how to apply tools and data to achieve effective and efficient policy outcomes.
5. Multi-departmental action Air quality management meeting
6.- Representatives of CCAC attending the parallel meeting on multi-sectoral actions for air quality management included Martina Otto, the head of the Secretariat, who explained that CCAC was born out of scientific assessment, emphasizing the relationship between climate and clean air, and focusing on effective and immediately available mitigation measures. To help raise the ambition level of Clean Air, the alliance has launched the Clean Air Flagship Program from 2024 to 2026. This flagship program is built around five goals, including enhancing the capabilities of air quality management personnel through the development of AQMx (Air Quality Management Communication Platform), and supporting regional cooperation on clean air by launching the Clean Air Africa Initiative.
CCAC is also actively involved in the sectoral reduction of super pollutants through its centers, supporting the implementation of effective policies in major emission sectors such as agriculture, waste management, brick kilns, and heavy vehicles and engines.
7.Christian Peter, the World Bank’s Manager of Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy Practices, outlined the World Bank’s work plan in the Indus-Ganges Plain and the foothelines of the Himalayas. He pointed out that even though some countries have set air quality targets in their regulations, their implementation would still be more difficult. The World Bank is adopting a three-pronged approach. Firstly, it is establishing a strong analytical foundation. Secondly, it focuses on implementing a multi-sector air quality strategy. Finally, it regards air pollution as a whole rather than taking a country-by-country approach.
He emphasized the importance of tailoring communication methods to different audiences to attract recognition, as well as identifying collaborators from both the public and private sectors to support implementation.
Heather Adair-Rohani, acting Head of the Air Quality, Energy and Health Department of the World Health Organization, emphasized how the World Health Organization provides the evidence needed for the health sector to engage with sector decision-makers and drive them to take action to improve air quality. The World Health Organization is the main provider of air pollution data (global health-related pollutant concentrations, spatial and temporal trends, pollution source attribution research database) and related health impact data (mortality and morbidity, epidemiological database). The World Health Organization has also developed a series of interactive decision support tools, including AirQ+, CaRBonH, GreenUr, HEAT and BAR-HAP. She reminded the audience that the World Health Organization is responsible for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals related to air pollution (Sustainable Development Goal 3.9.1 on mortality rates caused by environmental and household air pollution; Sustainable Development Goal 7.1.2 Regarding access to Clean Fuels;
Sustainable Development Goal 11.6.2 regarding urban PM2.5 Concentration.
9. After the keynote speeches by the three speakers, a group discussion was held.
10. Ashwin Vasan from the Harvard School of Public Health described how New York City uses air pollution sensors to complement the air quality monitoring network and identify air pollution hotspots within the city.
11. Michael Williams, the Director of Environmental Health of Jamaica, discussed how to identify towns with a higher level of air pollution with the support of the Pan American Health Organization and formulate strategies through the cooperation of multiple government agencies.
12.Pema Gyamtsho, the Director-General of ICIMOD, spoke of the importance of cooperation among countries to deal with cross-border air pollution.
He emphasized that there are already many known solutions at present, so there is no reason to postpone the action.
13.Itsuki Kuruda, the deputy director of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, explained the working relationship between the environment and health in Japan and between the national and local governments.
She emphasized the importance of local implementation to ensure that specific circumstances were taken into account.
14.Aoife Kirk, Head of Clean Air, spoke at the World Economic Forum about the necessity of cooperation with the private sector, particularly emphasizing the partnership between the Clean Air Fund and the private sector. CCAC, IKEA, the Stockholm Environment Institute and the World Economic Forum jointly developed guidelines for the private sector to report air pollutant emissions.
15. Abstract of “Multi-sectoral Action for Air Quality Management” :
16. Martina Otto: “Enjoying a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a human right, not a luxury for those who are capable.”
17. Christian Peter: “We have done enough in terms of analysis.”
We need to take action.
18. Lunch Activity: Let Clean Air benefit Everyone – Solving Pollution Problems in South Asia and Creating a Healthier Future Together
19. Following the release of its flagship report on air pollution on Monday, the World Bank held a luncheon, focusing on how regional cooperation could improve air quality in the Indus-Ganges Plain and the foothises of the Himalayas, with particular emphasis on the “35×35” initiative supported by the World Bank to reduce PM35 levels to 3 micrograms per cubic meter by 2.5 years.
This plan is based on the roadmap formulated after the science policy dialogue in the region and has received political support from the top leaders of the participating countries.
20. Group members talked about the experiences of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan and the common challenges they faced, and pointed out that cross-border air pollution meant that cooperation was necessary to achieve sustainable improvement. Everyone described the important measures that have been taken to address the major pollution sources, including household energy, transportation and agricultural burning, as well as the plans for further actions.
The group unanimously advocated continuing the dialogue between science and policy and believed that cleaner air was crucial to economic development.
21. Speech at the luncheon: “Let Clean Air Benefit Everyone: Solving Pollution Problems in South Asia and Creating a Healthier Future Together”
22. Arunabha Ghosh, founder and CEO of the Energy, Environment and Water Resources Council: “Air quality needs to be part of a broader economic development strategy.”
We should not regard it as a burden, but as an economic asset.
23.Pema Gyamtsho, Director-General of ICIMOD, when talking about his optimism about achieving the “35×35” goal, said: “I see leaders of different countries speaking the same language.”
24. Conference: Addressing Air Pollution, Health and Climate Issues: Responding to Black Carbon and Ultrafine Particulate Matter
25. The meeting kicked off with three speeches, respectively introducing the latest scientific achievements on ultrafine particulate matter, black carbon, and the systematic review of the health effects of black carbon by the World Health Organization, and gathering a large number of studies to further confirm the evidence base.
26. After the scientific presentation, Martina Otto of the CCAC Secretariat hosted a panel discussion on the connection between black carbon science and policy.
27.Elisa Puzzolo, Policy Manager of the Clean Air Fund, discussed the flagship report on black carbon released by the CAF on World Glacier Day.
She identified three priority policy areas for reducing black carbon: the cryosphere, energy, and coordinated actions against super pollutants.
Professor Zhu Tong from Peking University introduced the trend data of black carbon emissions.
He pointed out that black carbon emissions in China, North America and Europe have decreased, mainly due to household energy, while black carbon emissions in other regions have increased.
29. Michael Johnson, the technical director of Berkeley Air Monitoring Group, explained that residential fuel standards have previously focused on fuel efficiency rather than black carbon emissions, making it difficult to incentivize investment in reducing black carbon.
He described the efforts to determine appropriate indicators and monitoring protocols.
30. Neto Galzon, the Government of Colombia, explained that Colombia has incorporated its black carbon emission reduction targets into its nationally determined contributions because reducing black carbon emissions has multiple benefits.
He discussed the importance of implementing effective policies through cross-departmental collaboration and working with stakeholders to ensure support.
31.Pema Gyamtsho, Director-General of ICIMOD, said that black carbon was the culprit for 28% of the melting of glaciers in the Hindu Kush region, which is the world’s largest reserve of frozen water and guarantees the livelihoods of a quarter of the global population.
He pointed out that after the 2015 earthquake, in CCAC and emphasized that biomass burning and transportation were other areas of issue that needed to be addressed.
32. Meeting: Solid Waste Management: Policies to Stop Waste Incineration and Health Solutions
33. Sandra Cavalleri, the coordinator of the CCAC Center, presided over a parallel meeting on solid waste management. The meeting explored the impact of open-air garbage burning on health, especially on vulnerable groups such as children, women and workers in the informal sector. In her opening speech, she reminded the audience that of the 200 million tons of municipal solid waste generated globally each year, 40% is incinerated in the open air and 30% is treated in landfills. These poor waste management practices are the main sources of super pollutants, such as methane (emitted through the decomposition of organic waste) and black carbon (related to the open burning of waste).
Since most of the mitigation measures in the waste sector have low or negative costs and offer multiple common benefits in terms of climate, clean air and health, the reasons for taking action are obvious.
34. The first speaker was Caradee Wright, the chief scientist and expert of the South African Medical Research Council, who introduced the challenges and opportunities of open-air garbage burning in low – and middle-income countries. She presented the results of a systematic review on the health impacts of waste incineration worldwide, which found an increased incidence of respiratory diseases, cognitive development disorders, thyroid dysfunction and adverse perinatal outcomes. Most of these health impacts occur in informal residential areas, highlighting the influence of waste management on environmental justice. The challenges she emphasized include the lack of a garbage collection and classification system, as well as the lack of data on the quantity and composition of garbage. However, there are also many opportunities. 70% of the waste produced by low – and middle-income countries is recyclable (organic, paper, plastic), and thus is of great value in the circular economy model. Incorporating informal workers into waste management programs can also provide safer and fairer working conditions while protecting livelihoods.
Economic incentives such as the return system and exchanging food stamps for classified garbage can also prove to be effective.
35. Andrea Costa Santos, a consultant of the World Bank, subsequently presented the research results on the health and economic burden of electronic waste in Africa. Although the amount of electronic waste generated in Africa is relatively small compared to other regions, the harm caused by the electronic waste discharged by high-income countries on the African continent to the environment and health is becoming increasingly serious. Studies have found that children under the age of five living near electronic waste dumps have a 70% higher risk of acute respiratory diseases.
The number of acute respiratory diseases related to electronic waste incineration on the African continent over the past 11 years is estimated at 685,499 cases. The related cost of onset is 190,000 US dollars and the cost of death is 28.5 billion US dollars.
36. Another perspective in the African region is Agnes Nyabigambo, a research expert from Makere University, who shared her experience at an open-air landfill in Uganda. Although the country has no regulations on open-air landfills, a tragic accident that occurred at a landfill near Kampala, resulting in several casualties, highlights the predicament of informal scavengers.
She emphasized that more data on landfill emissions, as well as regulations and policies supporting waste collection, classification and recycling, are needed to reduce the health and safety hazards posed by open landfills.
37. Finally, Budi Haryanto, a professor at the University of Indonesia, introduced the impact of solid waste management in Indonesia on health. The country generates over 170,000 tons of solid waste every day, 60% of which is poorly managed, resulting in air, water and soil pollution. Open-air burning of organic waste, plastic and electronic waste is particularly harmful to human health, and big cities are especially affected by this problem. The Jakarta government has recently banned the open burning of garbage in urban areas and expanded recycling programs and waste-to-energy plants.
He emphasized key policy intervention measures, such as sorting garbage at the source, better managing landfill sites to reduce methane emissions, stricter supervision and enforcement of incineration bans, and conducting public awareness campaigns.
38. Conference: Cross-border Collaboration, Sharing Air – Playing the Role of Healthy Voices
39. The Working Group on International Air Pollution Cooperation (FICAP) under the Convention on Long-Distance and Transboundary Air Pollution hosted a conference on regional and global cooperation in responding to air pollution.
By John Salter, Director of International Air Quality of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the United Kingdom, and Carolin Sanz Noriega, Environmental Affairs Officer of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
40. The meeting began with an introduction to the history and structure of the Convention, which was initially reached to address the issue of pollutants causing acid rain. Since 1990, member states have achieved significant emission reduction and decoupled economic growth from emission growth. This has brought about remarkable health benefits in addition to the initial goal of protecting forests, soil and lakes.
The speech also emphasized the key factors contributing to the success of the Convention, including a solid scientific foundation, the use of unified data and methods, a high level of trust among partners, and capacity building to support fair competition among member states.
41. Since its initial ratification, the convention has gradually developed and paid more attention to the impact of air pollution on health.
Michal Krzyzanowsi from Imperial College London introduced the role played by the World Health Organization’s European Centre for Environment and Health in chairing the Health Working Group of the Convention, providing a scientific basis for supporting increasingly ambitious actions.
42. After the speech, participants from different regions and scientific viewpoints engaged in group discussions.
43. Mark Palington, a senior scientist at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, expounded on the importance of cooperation among European and global scientists as well as among different disciplines.
44.Renee Gift, Legal Officer of the Legal Division of the United Nations Environment Programme, explained that there is no single template for incorporating air quality standards into law. Different countries use different indicators, standards or governance methods, and such differences may undermine the management of cross-border air pollution.
She pointed out that unilateral actions to manage air pollution remain important, but the cross-border nature of air pollution means that it is not the only problem.
45. Christian Torvette Caro, the head of air quality at the Ministry of Environment of Chile, talked about the importance of coordination among different government departments in addition to cooperation among countries.
He also emphasized the importance of “capacity building while formulating policies” to consolidate institutional knowledge.
46. Itsuki, Deputy Director of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan