World Environment Day 2019: Opening Session – The Air That We Breathe 5 June 2019 Philippines World Environment Day is an annual event organized by UN Environment on 5 June and celebrated by ADB's Environment Thematic Group. This year's theme, "Beat Air Pollution", is aligned with the operational priorities of ADB’s Strategy 2030 including those aimed at making cities more livable and providing better health for all. In order to address air pollution integrated approaches from the urban, transport, energy and health sectors are needed. This opening session was designed to raise awareness within the general ADB community of the current state and importance of addressing air pollution in Metro Manila and other Asian cities. During this event, resource persons identified air quality is among one of the region’s most serious environmental pressures, with 98% of Asia’s cities are exposed to air pollution levels that are of significant risk to health. It was estimated that by 2060, air pollution could be responsible for a reduction in global economic output of $330 per person, whilst annual healthcare costs due to air pollution could increase to $176 billion. The event also emphasized the need to urgently scale up our actions to address the region’s air pollution problem, which will, in turn, have climate change, health, and other socio-economic co-benefits. Program and Learning Materials 05 June 2019 Session / Activity Title Speaker(s) Presentation Air Pollution in Asian Cities In this presentation, Glynda Bathan, Deputy Executive Director of Clean Air Asia discussed the state of air pollution in Asian cities, honing on air… Glynda Bathan Presentation Impact of Air Pollution on Youth In this presentation, William Lucht emphasized the health effects of air pollution on the youth. He also encouraged participants to beat air… William Lucht Disclaimer The views expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term “country” in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Event Coordinator/s Emma Marsden Related Full Agenda Brochure: Breather - Mobile Air Quality Monitoring System Infographic: Outdoor Air Pollution Infographic: Economic Health Effects Infographic: Air Quality in Asian Cities Infographic: Air Quality in the Greater Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) Region Infographic: Improving Air Quality in Ulaanbaatar Infographic: Addressing Air Quality in ADB Projects ADB Organizer/s Climate Change, Resilience, and Environment Cluster Read Also Related Event: World Environment Day 2019: Panel Discussion on Beating Air Pollution, Making Asia’s Cities Livable Report: Regional: Mainstreaming Air Quality in Urban Development through South-South Twinning ADB Blog: Crystal clear – Asia’s cities are finding innovative ways to clean their skies Topics Environment Health Transport Urban Development Energy