North-East Asia Clean Air Partnership

https://neaspec.org/our-work/air-pollution/overview

The North-East Asia Clean Air Partnership (NEACAP) is a subregional initiative established to address the pressing issue of air pollution in North-East Asia. Formally launched in 2018 under the framework of the North-East Asian Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC), NEACAP serves as a platform that brings together member countries—China, Japan, Mongolia, the Republic of Korea, and the Russian Federation – in their collective efforts to improve air quality. The partnership is driven by a science-based and policy-oriented approach aimed at mitigating air pollution and its impacts.

Supported by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) through its Subregional Office for East and North-East Asia, NEACAP facilitates the exchange of policy experiences among the member States to enhance understanding of air pollution trends and dynamics. Additionally, NEACAP acts as a voluntary framework for promoting environmental cooperation, integrating scientific research with policy development to address both national and subregional air quality challenges.

NEACAP also contributes to broader regional initiatives, such as the Asia-Pacific Regional Action Programme on Air Pollution (RAPAP), which was adopted by member States to improve air quality management across the region. NEACAP supports RAPAP through capacity building, technical cooperation, exchange of best practices, and facilitating multilateral cooperation.

Recent Updates

At the Twenty-Eighth Senior Officials Meeting (SOM-28) of the North-East Asian Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC) held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 22 to 23 September 2025, NEASPEC member States marked another pivotal milestone for environmental cooperation in the subregion. Following NEASPEC’s 30th anniversary marked in 2023, NEASPEC member States adopted the NEASPEC Strategic Plan 2026–2030, which sets a strengthened framework for advancing subregional collaboration on environmental sustainability through partnership-oriented, data-driven, and capacity-building approaches. In parallel, NEASPEC member States approved the North-East Asia Clean Air Partnership (NEACAP) Work Plan 2026–2030, reaffirming air pollution as a priority focus and the underscoring the importance of NEACAP as an effective platform to deliver concrete outputs on science-policy interface development, knowledge sharing and outreach. The NEACAP Work Plan will facilitate collective actions and partnerships on priority areas, including joint research, technical cooperation through NEACAP Technical Centres, and outreach activities to enhance the science-policy interface. The adoption of the multi-year plans for NEASPEC and NEACAP underscore the strong commitment of North-East Asian countries to address air pollution challenges while building synergies with regional and global mechanisms in pursuit of cleaner air and sustainable development.

Projects

Title	NEACAP Policy Analysis Report “Successes and Challenges in Addressing Air Pollution in North-East Asia: A Call to Strengthen Regional Collaboration”
Duration	01/01/2022 - 03/06/2025
Partners
Geographical Scope	East and North-East Asia, China, Japan, Mongolia, Republic of Korea
Description	NEASPEC member States, through the NEACAP Science and Policy Committee, agreed on undertaking policy analysis and policy dialogue work, in line with the NEACAP Work Plan 2021-2025 adopted at the 24th NEASPEC Senior Officials Meeting (October 2020). During the third Meeting of the NEACAP Science and Policy Committee (SPC-3) (April 2021), SPC agreed on “Output 1”: Policy analysis and policy dialogue will be implemented in a mutually supportive way, with the outcome of a “policy analysis report”, which could be prepared by 2022 and published by 2023. The policy analysis report aims to highlight the key achievements of four countries - China, Japan, Mongolia, and the Republic of Korea - in their efforts to tackle air pollution, showcasing the progress made and the lessons learned over the past decade. By documenting these successes, the report supports the process of strengthening policy exchange and collaboration between countries of North-East Asia. Further, the report provides reviews of policy progress as well as existing and emerging challenges in each country, underscores the value of regional cooperation and provides a roadmap for future initiatives to ensure cleaner air and a healthier environment for the people of North-East Asia. The report also considers the important national and regional conditions, including both common and different elements, and: - focuses on pollutants prioritized under NEACAP, including PM10, PM2.5, and ozone & their key precursors, - provides a broad overview of air pollution, air quality trends, and air quality policies and legislation, - reviews development and progress in addressing air quality, - reviews the institutional capacity and effectiveness in the implementation of air pollution policies and legislation, - identifies key successes and emerging challenges, and - discusses opportunities and scope for further exchange and collaboration within the region.
Contact	Fideles Sadicon - ma [dot] fideles [dot] sadicon [at] un [dot] org Minkyung Hong - hong6 [at] un [dot] org