Air pollution and climate change continue to be a global concern, impacting the health and well-being, especially of marginalized groups and lower-income countries. The regional and global direction for action is for nations to progressively commit to a sustainability transition and adopt policies that will combat air pollution and climate change in an integrated manner. To do this, policymakers and stakeholders must understand the nexus between air quality and climate, from sources to impacts, assessment approaches, and the co-benefits of actions to address these issues. This will enable us to allocate scarce resources to investments that deliver the widest possible benefits.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) aims to play a more active role and be a leader in air quality management (AQM) by scaling up investments and capacity-building support to developing countries in Asia and the Pacific. Through the Asia Clean Blue Skies Program (ACBSP), several knowledge-sharing events on AQM topics have been organized on behalf of ADB by Ricardo Energy and Environment, Clean Air Asia, and Air Quality Consultants since 2022. Building on the outcomes of the Better Air Quality Conference in November 2023, this session focuses on identifying and implementing integrated actions to address air pollution and climate change.

Objectives of the Sessions

The session aimed to facilitate the sharing of best practices on improving air quality and reducing climate pollutant emissions, fostering integrative action, and maximizing efficient use of resources to achieve co-benefits. The current understanding of the extent of air pollution, its interactions with climate change, and methods for quantifying the benefits of actions, including the estimation of health and economic gains were discussed. Lessons learned on the challenges and solutions for integrated action were highlighted together with key success factors and considerations to ensure applicability in the regional and local context. Esteemed experts not only highlighted the co-benefits of action but also shared practical approaches in ensuring coordination that can lead to actions and impacts from the national to city levels. In particular, the two-day hybrid learning event aimed to achieve the following:

• To recognize the clear link between air pollution and climate in the context of science and solutions;
• To understand various approaches, strategies, and international best practices that can be applied at various levels to maximize the co-benefits of air pollution and climate action;
• To identify challenges and opportunities for integrated action on air quality and climate change in the local context; and
• To apply lessons learned from the knowledge sharing event (KSE) towards planning projects that will benefit both air quality and climate.