Air pollution remains one of the region’s most urgent public health and environmental challenges, yet it also presents one of the greatest opportunities for collaboration by delivering climate gains and cross-sectoral co-benefits across economies. Photo credit: ADB.
On 13 March, a session at the Better Air Quality Conference 2026 will spotlight how regional cooperation can drive cleaner air, healthier people, and more resilient ecosystems.
Looking ahead to 2045, ASEAN recognizes clean air as both a shared resource and a collective responsibility. The ASEAN Community Vision 2045 calls for coordinated action to address transboundary pollution, integrate air quality into climate and biodiversity agendas, and establish monitoring and financing systems that deliver co-benefits for health, resilience, and sustainable growth.
To help ASEAN realize this vision, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is scaling up engagement across critical areas—including air quality and urban transport, energy security, critical minerals, food security, the digital economy, health, and sustainable finance—ensuring regional priorities are matched with practical solutions and resources.
The Better Air Quality Conference (BAQ), Asia’s leading forum on air quality, supported by ADB, addresses pollution from transport, energy, agriculture, waste, construction, and industry. With its emphasis on actionable solutions—particularly national and city-level policies—BAQ has a proven track record of shaping policy, catalyzing initiatives, and fostering partnerships. BAQ 2026 will be held from 11 to 13 March at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok.
On 13 March, ADB's Southeast Asia Department is organizing a session at the BAQ that will spotlight how regional cooperation—through joint policies, innovative financing, and community participation—can drive cleaner air, healthier people, and more resilient ecosystems. Green and digital technologies will be highlighted as key enablers, improving monitoring, transparency, and financing while reducing costs and widening equitable access. Building on ASEAN’s long-term vision, the discussion will outline practical pathways to scale solutions linking air quality management with climate action, biodiversity protection, and public health outcomes.
The session, "Shared Atmosphere, Shared Responsibility: ASEAN Solutions for Better Air," will amplify ASEAN’s leadership on air quality—a transboundary challenge no country can address alone—and showcase its priorities at Asia’s premier forum. This initiative underscores the strong alignment between ASEAN’s Vision 2045 and ADB’s regional agenda, particularly in advancing climate resilience, sustainable urban transport, and public health. By leading this session, ADB signals its long-term commitment to ASEAN while mobilizing resources and expertise to turn vision into practice.
The session aims to
- Highlight ASEAN’s collective strategies for air quality management, emphasizing cross-border cooperation and shared regional frameworks;
- Demonstrate practical approaches that leverage financing, community participation, and digital innovation to address air quality challenges; and
- Map policy and partnership pathways with ADB and other development partners to identify common priorities and entry points for cooperation, while fostering learning and networking among ASEAN member states and BAQ participants.
Launched in 2002 by Clean Air Asia, the BAQ Conference has grown into Asia’s largest and most influential gathering on air quality. It brings together hundreds of policymakers, stakeholders, world-renowned experts, academics, and industry leaders to collaborate on solutions to the pressing challenge of air pollution. To date, 11 BAQs have been convened across the region.
This year's BAQ is co-organized by Clean Air Asia, ADB, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and the United Nations Environment Programme and is themed “Together for Clear Skies: Driving Action, Accelerating Investment.”
Session Speakers
- Karma Yangzom, Principal Environment Specialist, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department and Project Manager of the Asia Clean Blue Skies Program, ADB
- Zbigniew Klimont, Research Group Leader of the Pollution Management Group within the Energy, Climate, and Environment Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
- A representative from the Environmental Management Bureau, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippines
- Anuar Bin Ishak, Principal Assistant Director of Air Division, Department of Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, Malaysia
- A representative from the Department of Climate Change and Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand
- Kiyoung Lee, Professor, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University; Director of the Center for Global Environmental Health; and Project Manager of the Clean Air for Sustainable ASEAN Initiative
- Frank Hammes, Global CEO, IQAir
- Attilio Poli, Regional Director, ENVEA Group
The "Shared Atmosphere, Shared Responsibility: ASEAN Solutions for Better Air" will be held from 11:00 a.m. 12:30 p.m. on 13 March as a parallel session at BAQ 2026. For more information, visit the BAQ website.
