Air Quality Asia (AQA), established in 2016, aims to implement the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to clean air and the Paris Agreement, focusing on air pollution as a critical factor in climate change. The document outlines necessary actions, including real-time air quality monitoring, setting national targets for air quality improvement, and increasing investments in clean energy. The responsibility for air quality management lies with national, state, and city governments, necessitating coordination among these authorities.

1. AirQualityAsia
Shazia Z. Rafi,
President, AQA
www.airqualityasia.org

2. AQA: Parliamentary Campaign to implement Clean Air SDGs
and the Paris Agreement
 Air Pollution is an accelerator of Climate Change; the same carbon
emissions that speed up global warming make air-quality worse. Since
Climate Change is hard to measure, Air-Quality monitoring allows policy-
makers a measurement of progress or failure in real-time.
 AQA, was established in November 2016 to implement the UNSDGs 2030
related to clean air and the Paris Agreement. AQA convenes
parliamentarians, government officials, UN and development agencies,
green finance and NGOs working on different segments of Air-Quality with
initial focus on Asia, the region with the rising carbon emissions due to
growing economies.
 “Right to Clean Air” proposed at IPU meeting November 2013 by
Parliamentary Working Group on Clean Air, clean air language negotiated
in SDGs 2030 with strong targets. These SDGs were adopted by all
governments September 2015.

3. UN SDGs 2030 related to Clean Air
SDG 3.9 By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and
illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil
pollution and contamination.
SDG 11.6 By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental
impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality
and municipal and other waste management.
SDG 12.4 By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound
management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life
cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and
significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to
minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the
environment.

4. Source: ForbesIndia

7. New Delhi,
November 2018
New Delhi,
April 2020

8. Source: The Economist

9. What Works
 Nation-wide/state-wide Air pollution monitoring network:
real-time/yearly data;
 Setting National Targets/timelines for AQ improvement with
accountability under National/State AQ Plans
 Tightening/enforcing emission standard for power plants,
industry, transport
 Public and private investment in clean energy, sustainable
transport;EVs to overtake ICE by 2038
 Remove existing consumer subsidies for thermal/fossil fuels,
Global renewable energy investment was over $400 billion;
same year [2018]government subsidies for fossil fuel
consumption were almost $500 billion.

11. Source: Report “Air Pollution Interventions: Seeking the Intersection Between Climate and Health”, Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP),
AirQualityAsia and The Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society at Boston College, June 2020,
Many of the essential actions to improve air
quality in cities and towns are under the
control of national and state governments,
such as power plant development, road fuels
quality, vehicle technology requirements,
industry emission standards. National and
state authorities must coordinate with city
administrations.
WHO is Responsible? NATIONAL,
State, or City