City2City
HLPF 2020 Side-Event: Thinking Through Issues of Density, Overcrowding, Public Space and Health
07 July 2020 - This High-Level Political Forum 2020 side event which is led by UN-Habitat and co-organized with the World Health Organization, seeks to contribute to bolstering local action to accelerate the implementation of Agenda 2030. 
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07 July 2020 - As part of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), the side-event on “Urban Form and COVID-19: Thinking Through Issues of Density, Overcrowding, Public Space, and Health”, will be held on July 9, 2020 from 12:00 - 13:15 (USA Eastern Standard Time). 

As Member States review strategies to bolster local action to "Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development" in an era of COVID19, there is no choice but to consider the relationship between urban form and health. While cities are severely hit by the pandemic, prior public health crises have brought about improved sanitation, and better housing, streets and public spaces in many cities. At the moment, the outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic is uncertain, with some envisaging a retraction from cities, and others expecting that cities will continue to adapt and thrive. Underlying such thinking are assumptions about density and disease. Research has started to show that this relationship is not direct, and to stress the importance of housing conditions, income, health care, public space, and sanitation.

The side event which is led by UN-Habitat and co-organized with the World Health Organization, seeks to contribute to bolstering local action to accelerate the implementation of Agenda 2030. It will help develop a greater understanding among policymakers, practitioners, and research institutions about the relationship between urban form and disease prevention. The side event will provide an opportunity to consider available evidence and experiences from member states and to strengthen cooperation across health and urban development sectors in the era of COVID-19 and beyond.

More Event Details: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?page=view&type=20000&nr=7020&menu=2993

Join the Event Link Here (on July 9, 2020 from 12:00 - 1:15 PM EST)

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COVID-19 and Human Development: Assessing the Crisis, Envisioning the Recovery
02 July 2020 - This note takes a capabilities approach to document the severity of the unfolding human development crisis. Such an approach implies an evaluative framework to assess the crisis and shape the policy response that emphasizes the potential for people to be and do what they aspire in life as opposed to material resources or economic activity.
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02 July 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic is unleashing a human development crisis. On some dimensions of human development, conditions today are equivalent to levels of deprivation last seen in the mid-1980s.

But the crisis is hitting hard on all of human development’s constitutive elements: income (with the largest contraction in economic activity since the Great Depression), health (directly causing a death toll over 300,000 and indirectly leading potentially to an additional 6,000 child deaths every day from preventable causes over the next 6 months) and education (with effective out-of-school rates – meaning, accounting for the inability to access the internet – in primary education expected to drop to the levels of actual rates of the mid-1980s levels). This, not counting less visible indirect effects, including increased domestic violence, yet to be fully documented.

The pandemic was superimposed on unresolved tensions between people and technology, between people and the planet, between the haves and the have-nots. These tensions were already shaping a new generation of inequalities—pertaining to enhanced capabilities, the new necessities of the 21st century, as defined in the 2019 Human Development Report. But the response to the crisis can shape how those tensions are addressed and whether inequalities in human development are reduced.

This note takes a capabilities approach to document the severity of the unfolding human development crisis. Such an approach implies an evaluative framework to assess the crisis and shape the policy response that emphasizes the potential for people to be and do what they aspire in life as opposed to material resources or economic activity. To assess the crisis, the note draws from original simulations that are based on an adjusted Human Development Index—with the education dimension modified to reflect the effects of school closures and mitigation measures—and that incorporate current projections of gross national income (GNI) per capita for 2020.

The simulations suggest conditions today would correspond to a steep and unprecedented decline in human development. With almost 9 in 10 students out of school and deep recessions in most economies (including a 4 percent drop in GNI per capita worldwide), the decline in the index –reflecting a narrowing in capabilities-- would be equivalent to erasing all the progress in human development of the past six years. Importantly, if conditions in school access are restored, capabilities related to education would immediately bounce back – while the income dimension would follow the path of the economic recovery post-crisis. The simulations also show the importance of promoting equity in capabilities. In a scenario with more equitable internet access—where each country closes the gap with the leaders in its human development category—the decline in human development would be more than halved. This would be eminently affordable. In 2018 it was estimated that $100 billion would be needed to close the gap in internet access in low- and middle-income countries—or about 1 percent of the extraordinary fiscal programmes announced around the world so far.

The note suggests three principles to shape the response to the crisis:

  • Look at the response through an equity lens.i Countries, communities and groups already lagging in enhanced capabilities will be particularly affected, and leaving them further behind will have long-term impacts on human development.
  • Focus on people’s enhanced capabilities. This could reconcile apparent tradeoffs between public health and economic activity (a means to the end of expanding capabilities) but would also help build resilience for future shocks.
  • Follow a coherent multidimensional approach. Since the crisis has multiple interconnected dimensions (health, economic, and several social aspects, decisions on the allocation of fiscal resources that can either further lock-in or break free from carbon-intensive production and consumption), a systemic approach—rather than a sector-by-sector sequential approach—is essential. A recent survey conducted in 14 countries found that 71 percent of adults globally consider that climate change is as serious a crisis as COVID-19, with two-thirds supporting government actions to prioritise climate change during the recovery. ii

The United Nations has proposed a framework for the immediate socioeconomic response,iii with which this note is fully consistent and meant to inform and further flesh out both the analysis of the crisis and possible responses.

Finally, the note also highlights the importance of collective action—at the community, country, and global levels. And the response to this crisis is showing how people around the world are responding collectively. The adoption of social distancing behaviour—which in some cases started before formal policies were put in place—could not possibly be fully enforced. It depended on the voluntary cooperation of billions of people. And it was done in response to a shared global risk that brought to the fore as a priority something other than having economies grow more rapidly. If we needed proof of concept that humanity can respond collectively to a shared global challenge, we are now living through it.

Read the full report here or download the attached PDF of the report.

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COVID-19 and Human Development: Assessing the Crisis, Envisioning the Recovery
02 July 2020 - This note takes a capabilities approach to document the severity of the unfolding human development crisis. Such an approach implies an evaluative framework to assess the crisis and shape the policy response that emphasizes the potential for people to be and do what they aspire in life as opposed to material resources or economic activity. 
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02 July 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic is unleashing a human development crisis. On some dimensions of human development, conditions today are equivalent to levels of deprivation last seen in the mid-1980s.

But the crisis is hitting hard on all of human development’s constitutive elements: income (with the largest contraction in economic activity since the Great Depression), health (directly causing a death toll over 300,000 and indirectly leading potentially to an additional 6,000 child deaths every day from preventable causes over the next 6 months) and education (with effective out-of-school rates – meaning, accounting for the inability to access the internet – in primary education expected to drop to the levels of actual rates of the mid-1980s levels). This, not counting less visible indirect effects, including increased domestic violence, yet to be fully documented.

The pandemic was superimposed on unresolved tensions between people and technology, between people and the planet, between the haves and the have-nots. These tensions were already shaping a new generation of inequalities—pertaining to enhanced capabilities, the new necessities of the 21st century, as defined in the 2019 Human Development Report. But the response to the crisis can shape how those tensions are addressed and whether inequalities in human development are reduced.

This note takes a capabilities approach to document the severity of the unfolding human development crisis. Such an approach implies an evaluative framework to assess the crisis and shape the policy response that emphasizes the potential for people to be and do what they aspire in life as opposed to material resources or economic activity. To assess the crisis, the note draws from original simulations that are based on an adjusted Human Development Index—with the education dimension modified to reflect the effects of school closures and mitigation measures—and that incorporate current projections of gross national income (GNI) per capita for 2020.

The simulations suggest conditions today would correspond to a steep and unprecedented decline in human development. With almost 9 in 10 students out of school and deep recessions in most economies (including a 4 percent drop in GNI per capita worldwide), the decline in the index –reflecting a narrowing in capabilities-- would be equivalent to erasing all the progress in human development of the past six years. Importantly, if conditions in school access are restored, capabilities related to education would immediately bounce back – while the income dimension would follow the path of the economic recovery post-crisis. The simulations also show the importance of promoting equity in capabilities. In a scenario with more equitable internet access—where each country closes the gap with the leaders in its human development category—the decline in human development would be more than halved. This would be eminently affordable. In 2018 it was estimated that $100 billion would be needed to close the gap in internet access in low- and middle-income countries—or about 1 percent of the extraordinary fiscal programmes announced around the world so far.

The note suggests three principles to shape the response to the crisis:

  • Look at the response through an equity lens.i Countries, communities and groups already lagging in enhanced capabilities will be particularly affected, and leaving them further behind will have long-term impacts on human development.
  • Focus on people’s enhanced capabilities. This could reconcile apparent tradeoffs between public health and economic activity (a means to the end of expanding capabilities) but would also help build resilience for future shocks.
  • Follow a coherent multidimensional approach. Since the crisis has multiple interconnected dimensions (health, economic, and several social aspects, decisions on the allocation of fiscal resources that can either further lock-in or break free from carbon-intensive production and consumption), a systemic approach—rather than a sector-by-sector sequential approach—is essential. A recent survey conducted in 14 countries found that 71 percent of adults globally consider that climate change is as serious a crisis as COVID-19, with two-thirds supporting government actions to prioritise climate change during the recovery. ii

The United Nations has proposed a framework for the immediate socioeconomic response,iii with which this note is fully consistent and meant to inform and further flesh out both the analysis of the crisis and possible responses.

Finally, the note also highlights the importance of collective action—at the community, country, and global levels. And the response to this crisis is showing how people around the world are responding collectively. The adoption of social distancing behaviour—which in some cases started before formal policies were put in place—could not possibly be fully enforced. It depended on the voluntary cooperation of billions of people. And it was done in response to a shared global risk that brought to the fore as a priority something other than having economies grow more rapidly. If we needed proof of concept that humanity can respond collectively to a shared global challenge, we are now living through it.

Read the full report here or download the attached PDF of the report.

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Hamamatsu Voluntary Local Review Report 2019
01 July 2020 - 
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Hamamatsu City is a government ordinance designated city, located between Tokyo and Osaka along the Pacific coast, with an area of 1,558km2 and a population of about 800,000. The population of the city is on a downward trend from its peak in 2008. It is projected that the population trend will continue and the aging ratio (27% as of 2018) will increase. One of the features with regard to the population in Hamamatsu is the number of foreign nationals, which accounts for 3% of the total population, 1% higher than the national average.

As a result of the merger of 12 local municipalities in July 2005, Hamamatsu became the second largest municipal area nationwide with diverse natural and social environment that includes urban, rural, mountainous and hilly areas. For this reason, it is referred to as a government ordinance-designated city that is a model of Japan in miniature. With rich forest and fishery resources, the primary industry is thriving in Hamamatsu. In addition, the city is famous for manufacturing and is the location of large corporations that are active on the global stage, such as Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawai, Hamamatsu Photonics, Roland, and FCC. Not only large companies but also small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and venture companies are also active. The higher ratio of primary and secondary industries compared to other government-ordinance designated cities in Japan is one of the characteristics of Hamamatsu.

Challenges

Hamamatsu City faces various challenges including the administrative costs to maintain and upgrade municipal services covering large administrative area, independence of underpopulated areas, administrative services that can meet to socio-economic environment and social needs that changes according to the population decline, low birthrate and progressive aging society, and co-existence with foreign residents. Against the background of the nuclear disaster as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent deregulation of the electric power industry, Hamamatsu is also facing the need to put measures in place to continue to secure a stable supply of energy and to protect people’s lives and livelihoods against natural disasters (disaster prevention and mitigation).

Localisation and mainstreaming of the SDGs in Hamamatsu City

To tackle with a lot of local challenges, Hamamatsu City is managing city administration in partnership with various local stakeholders and by leveraging municipal budgets and local resources effectively. The Hamamatsu City Comprehensive Plan, the 30-year plan from 2015 is integrated with the principles of the SDGs, and therefore the city is promoting the SDGs implementation through the implementation of the comprehensive plan. The comprehensive plan of the city was drawn up using backcasting techniques. The comprehensive plan includes 12 vision-points for the desirable future of city called the “One Dozen Futures” and sets out comprehensive policies to achieve the vision. In the process of making the comprehensive plan, "the Hamamatsu Future Design Council" composed of experts and citizens having different backgrounds was established to review and discuss the plan. In addition to the discussion at the Council, the city interviewed citizens to hear and reflect more voices from citizens.

Read the full report here or download the attached PDF of the report.

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Voluntary Subnational Review: Oaxaca, Mexico
01 July 2020 - This preliminary version of the Voluntary Subnational Review is a first report on the activities that Oaxaca has carried out in relation to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, as well as a space for reflection and self-evaluation that identifies the challenges and lessons learned.
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This exercise will be complemented by a methodology that enables the inclusion of citizens, academia, and the productive sector to evaluate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the state and municipalities. Additionally, management and performance indicators will have to be built to allow monitoring and faithful monitoring of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its impact, in order to generate periodic evaluations of the work carried out in the state and municipalities.

Subnational Level

1. As part of the efforts at the subnational level, a diagnosis was made of the situation in Oaxaca to determine the level of linkage between the planning structure and the state priorities with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

  • An analysis of the compatibility of the goals of the 17 SDGs with the objectives set out in the 2016-2022 State Development Plan
  • An exercise to link the 97 indicators of the 2018 budget programs with the 240 indicators of the 2030 Agenda
  • A classification of the 240 indicators of the 2030 Agenda according to the competencies, attributions, and scope of the 32 dependencies that make up the State Public Administration

2. The Legal Group made a proposal to reform the State Planning Law with the modification of 27 of its 121 articles, with the objective that the SDGs are considered in the planning process and that sustainable development is understood in its three dimensions: social, economic, and environmental.

3. The 2016-2022 State Development Plan is the governing document of public policy in Oaxaca. Currently, work is being done to update this plan with a focus on sustainability framed in the 2030 Agenda.

4. In 2018, the 12 sector plans, which establish the priorities, objectives, goals; as well as the current expenditure and investment estimates of each sector for the fulfillment of its objectives, were aligned in its strategic framework to the 2030 Agenda.

5. Three trainings were carried out during 2019 related to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for state public officials, municipal authorities, the staff of the Technical Liaison Modules, and for students of the Economics Department at the Benito Juarez Autonomous University.

Multi-Actor Alliances

1. The methodology for the inclusion of civil society, academia, and the productive sector was set up through which three Working Committees have formed: 1) Social Inclusion, 2) Economic Growth and 3) Environmental Sustainability, considering the three dimensions of sustainable development. These committees are integrated by representatives of state agencies, civil society, academia, and the productive sector. They aim to be a space for public policy innovation.

2. The Government of the State of Oaxaca has a technical cooperation agreement with the GIZ, which has the purpose of contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the state and municipal level so that the vision of sustainable development is adopted for the fulfillment of the SDGs.

Municipal Level

1. As part of the technical cooperation with the GIZ, the Municipal Sustainable Development Plans Guide was prepared, which has as its main objective to guide the municipal governments in the preparation of the Municipal Development Plans with a participatory approach and sustainable development.

2. Likewise, in this same cooperation, a pilot sample of 10 municipalities was chosen to work in a coordinated manner with the GIZ and the Technical Work Committee in municipal planning, the prioritization of works, and citizen participation.

3. In order to strengthen the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, 547 Municipal Social Development Councils have been installed, which are spaces for a plural and inclusive participation and dialogue for the implementation of this agenda and are constituted as instances of linkage of the three levels of government, the social, and private sectors.

Read the full report here or download the attached PDF of the report.

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COVID-19 in African Cities: Impacts, Responses and Policies
27 June 2020 - The report proposes several interventions to promptly and effectively address the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic in Africa at the urban level led by national and local governments supported by international and regional development institutions.
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27 June 2020 - COVID-19, a global pandemic declared by the World Health Organization (WHO), is crippling the global economy and upending people’s lives thereby threatening sustainable development across all its dimensions. Africa is also facing the dire consequences of the crisis, necessitating timely response, recovery and rebuilding policies and strategies. Globally, urban areas are the epicenters of the epidemic accounting for most of the confirmed COVID-19 cases.

UN-Habitat in collaboration with UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG), African Development Bank (AfDB), and Shelter Afrique have joined hands to produce this new report: COVID-19 in African Cities: Impacts, Responses and Policies.

The report proposes several interventions to promptly and effectively address the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic in Africa at the urban level led by national and local governments supported by international and regional development institutions.

Download the Full Report Here: https://unhabitat.org/covid-19-in-africa-cities-impacts-responses-and-policies

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Anticipating Risks and Uncertainties for Asia and the Pacific: A Hybrid Horizon Scanning Report

Through the RBAP Regional Horizon Scanning Initiative, the UNDP RBAP Strategic Foresight Network strives to introduce insights from foresight – rooted in collective intelligence and made relevant through extensive sensemaking – to embed more anticipation into existing decision-making processes. 

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Anticipating Risks and Uncertainties for Asia and the Pacific: A Hybrid Horizon Scanning Report

FEBRUARY 26, 2023 by UNDP

The Asia-Pacific region is fast growing and fast adapting. The nexus of geopolitical, economic, natural, and biological risks has heightened uncertainty across the region. Their intersection with ongoing global volatility, a looming recession and the impacts of climate change continues to intensify these interconnected challenges. New modes of long-term and cross-disciplinary thinking are required to inform adaptive and anticipatory approaches to policy, programming, and governance. 

This bi-annual exercise seeks to continually monitor and analyse development trends, risks, and uncertainties within the Asia-Pacific region to produce insights for UNDP Country Offices to consider when designing future-fit policy and programming. 

The UNDP Regional Horizon Scanning Initiative 2.0 (HS 2.0) builds from the inaugural edition of the RBAP Regional Horizon Scanning Initiative (September-December 2021) by further exploring identified signals and risks, while building on methodological best practices and lessons learned. This includes work to understand the implications of the signals for policy and programming, as well as to strategically analyse weak signals and emerging trends relevant to the region. 

This year, to advance ongoing engagement with findings, as well as facilitate ongoing monitoring and integrated sensemaking of challenges and opportunities raised through both Horizon Scanning exercises, their findings and insights are presented in a hybrid, phased and dynamic manner. 

Access the full report here or download the attached PDF of the full version

Please find the online signals noted in this report on UNDP’s Data Futures platform here: data.undp.org/rbaphorizonscanning/

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AIPH World Green City Awards 2024: Register your city's interest today!

AIPH and partners are proud to have launched the 2024 edition of the World Green City Awards.

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Building on the legacy of the inaugural edition, the stage is set to celebrate innovative approaches to city design and function which have the living green at their heart.

The AIPH World Green City Awards 2024 are designed to champion ambitious nature-orientated approaches to city design and operation. Specifically, it recognises initiatives relying on a greater use of plants and nature to create better city environments – helping to fulfil local aspirations for improved economic, social and environmental resilience.

Entries will open early in 2023 but you don’t have to wait until then to express your city’s interest. To make sure you don’t miss this announcement, register your interest on behalf of your city and we will guide you through the entry submission process when it opens. Registering your city’s interest is not a commitment to entering at a later stage. It simply allows you to be the first to know when entries are open.

Register Your City's Interest Here

After assessment by the Technical Panel, eighteen entries to the 2022 Awards were selected as finalists. The shortlist comprises the three highest-scoring entries in each of the six categories. View the 2022 finalists here. 

The six category winners, and the Grand WInner of the inaugural AIPH World Green City Awards 2022 were selected by the world-renowned jury in the second round of judging and announced at a gala dinner on the 14th October 2022 as part of the IUCN‘s Leaders Form in the Special-Self-Governing Province of Jeju, South Korea. You can view the winners here.

The video edit of the Awards ceremony is now available online. You can view it on Dropbox or find it on our YouTube channel here.

The Press Release announcing the winners is available here.

Case Studies from all finalists and winners of the 2022 edition are available here.

To stay in the loop with the AIPH World Green City Awards 2024, and to stay informed of other AIPH Green City Activities, we invite you to subscribe to our monthly AIPH Global Green City Update and join the AIPH Global Green City Forum.

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With EU support, UNDP will repair more than 50 schools in Ukraine
United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine has launched a project aiming to repair initially 50 schools that were damaged during the full-scale Russian invasion, in municipalities across Ukraine. A recently signed agreement between the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) worth EUR 14 million (US$14.7 million) will enable for works to start in 2023 on the first batch of schools, in order to provide the highest quality learning environment for more than 21,000 students.
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With EU support, UNDP will repair more than 50 schools in Ukraine

Published by UNDP on 2 February 2023

Around 21,000 students will be able to attend classes in schools repaired by UNDP in line with health, safety and environmental standards. 

Photo: Artem Hetman / UNDP Ukraine

Kyiv, 2 February 2023 – The

Specific repairs to damaged buildings, which were selected in consultation with the Government of Ukraine, will include the installation of new windows, repairs of roofs and sanitary facilities. Heating systems will be repaired or enhanced, and sirens will be tested and if needed replaced. Finally, bomb shelters will be enhanced to keep children safe from aerial attacks. All repairs will take into consideration inclusivity, environmental sustainability and energy efficiency standards.

“We are proud to help the children of Ukraine access a safe learning environment together with our partner UNDP. Children are the future of Ukraine, and they belong at school,” said Claudia Amaral, Head of EU Humanitarian Aid in Ukraine.

Jaco Cilliers, interim UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine, said his organization appreciates the long-standing strategic partnership with the EU, making it possible to respond to Ukraine’s acute needs promptly while building relationships with local authorities and communities to help ensure the restoration work is done quickly and efficiently. “We have an ambitious task to make sure that tens of thousands of children, their teachers, parents and other community members feel safe in the newly repaired schools,” he said. “It also is important to build them back better than before, with sustainability criteria that contribute to a green and circular economy.”

Media enquiries: Yuliia Samus, UNDP Ukraine Head of Communications; e-mail: yuliia.samus@undp.org

Retrieved from https://www.undp.org/ukraine/press-releases/eu-support-undp-will-repair-more-50-schools-ukraine

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UNESCAP's Urban Air Pollution Project

This Urban Air Pollution Project intends to help regional cities create Action Plans and that map out a future to ensure their citizens have access to clean air now and in the future.

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Urban Air Pollution

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Air pollution is universally recognised as one of the most pressing environmental challenges Asia and the Pacific. And the crisis has only heightened in recent years, leading to a rise in premature deaths, threatening livelihoods and the sustainable development of the region, particularly in many cities where air pollution rises with the exponentially rising urban population. A 2019 report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Air Pollution in Asia and the Pacific: Science-based solutions, claims that 2.3 billion people in the region are exposed to air pollution several times the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for safe air. The most damaging air pollutants are fine particulate matter (PM) and ground-level Ozone (O3). In 2015, the majority of global deaths, 35 per cent, were from ambient (outdoor) air pollution, occurred in East Asia and the Pacific, and another 33 per cent occurred in South Asia. If the current condition persists, this may threaten the region's economic growth, add to the mounting death toll air pollution already takes, threaten food security and potentially prompt regression away from international targets to combat climate change and increase equity.

In recent years, the region has become acutely aware of the anthropogenic activities that cause their dirty air and has begun taking action to mitigate the sources. These measures have made some improvement in air quality. However, policymakers in developing areas often lack the capacity to gather, utilise and employ data on air pollution to apply science-based measures that effectively ensure green growth and clean air for the ever-expanding people of Asia and the Pacific. Futhermore, there is a need for better urban planning that emphasises environmental priorities such as clean and efficient energy, regulations on industry standards, low-carbon development, transport policies and sustainable transportation.
This Urban Air Pollution Project intends to help regional cities create Action Plans and that map out a future to ensure their citizens have access to clean air now and in the future.

DOWNLOAD PROJECT OVERVIEW

Project Goals

The Project aims to have three major results:

  • Enhance knowledge base on air pollution in the region: This includes a review of air pollution trends, existing policy approaches, and technology solutions, focusing on urban areas to facilitate city-level actions.
  • Build capacity to mitigate air pollution at the city level: This includes the compilation of a methodology/manual to develop city-level, science-based, air-pollution mitigation policy plans.
  • Enhance policies to mitigate air pollution at the city level: This includes the application of the manual/methodology in pilot cities and will result in draft air pollution Action Plans.

This Project focuses on reviewing the air pollution situation in Asia and the Pacific to develop a way forward to assist policymakers at the national and local level by providing opportunities to exchange experience and knowledge and enhance their awareness and capacity. The goal is to implement a science-based policy action plan at the city level to effectively tackle air pollution in urban areas.

The Project activities align with the mandates of ESCAP Resolution 75/4: Strengthening regional cooperation to tackle air pollution challenges in Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP/RES/75/4), adopted at the Seventy-fifth session in May 2019.

In addition, the Project bears in mind other relevant UN resolutions, including (i) World Health Assembly resolution 68/8 of 26 May 2015, Health and the environment:  addressing the health impact of air pollution and (ii) resolution 3/8 of  6  December  2017  of the  United  Nations  Environment Assembly on preventing and reducing air pollution to improve air quality globally. 

Tackling air pollution is a crucial focus for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly the followings: 3.9 - substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination and 11.6 - reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management. The above SDGs have linkages to many other SDGs, such as 7 -affordable and clean energy, 13 - climate action, 6 - clean water and sanitation, 14 - life below water, 15 - life on land and 12 - responsible production and consumption. By reaching these targets, the region can also make significant headway in complying with other global pacts, like the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change enacted in 2015 that aims to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5, degrees Celsius.

Retrieved from https://www.unescap.org/projects/urban-air-pollution

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