Air pollution remains a critical environmental challenge in the Asia-Pacific region, with far-reaching impacts on public health, ecosystems, and sustainable development. Beyond the immediate environmental impact, air quality is intrinsically linked to multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically impacting good health and well-being (SDG 3), , supporting transitions to more energy efficient systems (SDG 7), promoting healthier urban environment  (SDG 11), and strengthening low carbon development and environmental resilience (SDG 13).  

In recent years, countries in North-East Asia have demonstrated notable progress in improving air quality through strengthened policy frameworks, advanced technological solutions, enhanced monitoring systems, and broader multistakeholder cooperation efforts. In particular, China and the Republic of Korea,  have implemented comprehensive measures to reduce air pollutant emissions, strenghhen air quality governance, and promote cleaner energy transitions. These national expreriences provide valuable approaches that simultaneously address air pollutionand climate change challenges, at the same time, contribute to achieving the SDGs. 

In addition, national efforts are further amplified by partnership platforms promoting clean air for all. At the regional level, efforts to strengthen cooperation on clean air have been advanced through the Regional Action Programme on Air Pollution (RAPAP), adopted by ESCAP member States in 2022, to promote coordinated actions on air quality mangement, monitoring and data sharing, capacity-building, and policy cooperation across Asia and the Pacific. At the subregional level, the North-East Asia Clean Air Partnership (NEACAP) under the North-East Asian Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC) facilitates science-based policy dialogues, capacity-building, and knowledge exchange, ensuring that national air quality management aligns with broader sustainability objectves while also contributing to the implemenation of RAPAP and exploring synergies between clean air policies, climate mitigation efforts, and broader sustainable development objectives.

This side event, co-organized by CRAES, NIER, NEACAP and ESCAP, is designed to showcase national achievements and bilateral cooperation experiences between China and the Republic of Korea as well as collaborations advanced through various partnership platforms in the Asia-Pacific region on clean air. The event will also promote exchange of experiences and lessons learned on air quality management across different subregions in Asia and and identify approaches for implementing synergies on air quality management towards strengthening partnerships, enhancing regional cooperation and advancing SDG implementation across the Asia-Pacific region.