Publications·December 30, 2011
The 2011 report marks a decade since the first Better Air Quality (BAQ) Conference (Hong Kong, 2002) and the evolution from the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities into Clean Air Asia—a regional NGO and partnership network helping cities and governments cut air pollution and CO₂ emissions. It looks back at progress (more countries with national ambient standards; hundreds of cities publicly reporting air data) and looks forward with a clearer mission that links air quality, health, climate, and sustainable urban development.
Mission, role, and programs
CAA’s aim is to enable Asia’s 1,000+ cities to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases through science-based policies, capacity building, and multi-stakeholder cooperation. The organization structures work under four programs: Air Quality & Climate Change (AQ&CC), Low Emissions Urban Development (LEUD), Clean Fuels & Vehicles (CFV), and Green Freight & Logistics (GFL). Cross-cutting roles include developing regional roadmaps and guidance, building knowledge systems, and supporting cities with tools, data, and action planning.
Decade milestones and the state of air
The foreword underscores regional shifts: six countries established national ambient standards for the first time, more cities added PM₂.₅ and O₃ to standards, and 400+ cities began sharing data publicly—evidence that transparency drives action. Yet 7 in 10 urban residents in developing Asia still breathe unhealthy air, and rapid urbanization plus motorization continue to increase exposure. The response: accelerate adoption, improve implementation, and scale proven solutions.
CAA highlights “10 milestones for 10 years,” spanning (1) building a pan-Asia network and the BAQ platform; (2) monitoring trends and creating open databases (CitiesACT) and national clean-air profiles; (3) linking governments and cities in China via city networks and regional airshed coordination; (4) helping cities reduce emissions through diagnostics and planning; (5) putting sustainable transport on the agenda; (6) quantifying low-emission urban scenarios (RACE tool); (7) evaluating project impacts (TEEMP); (8) championing walkability; (9) developing a Road Map for Cleaner Fuels and Vehicles; and (10) initiating green freight programs and partnerships.
Air Quality & Climate Change (AQ&CC) — data, diagnostics, and planning
CAA consolidates a regional evidence base and guidance to shape policy. Its CitiesACT platform tracks air, transport, and energy indicators; national profiles and the Clean Air Portal curate policies, case studies, and news. The Clean Air Scorecard benchmarks a city’s AQM status across air quality levels, management capacity, and policies & actions—then guides next steps such as Clean Air Reports and Clean Air Action Plans. Applications include Kathmandu and Colombo (indoor/outdoor pollution studies feeding action plans), Jinan and Hangzhou (city clean air reports), Quetta (action plan), and Cagayan de Oro/Iloilo (emissions inventories and science-based plans developed with local stakeholders).
CAA also nurtures China city networks (e.g., provincial capitals) and regional coordination across Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas to share lessons and inform national policies. These fora support implementation of regional AQM plans and help align local and national actions.
Low Emissions Urban Development (LEUD) — avoid–shift–improve, tools, and walking
LEUD advances integrated land use–transport–energy approaches to decouple emissions from urban growth. With partners, CAA developed RACE (Rapid Assessment of City Emissions) to test 2030 scenarios and visualize results in GIS for decision-makers; pilots in Ho Chi Minh City, Ahmedabad, and Colombo show sizeable potential reductions (e.g., transport: ~34% CO₂, ~30% PM, ~20% NOₓ for HCMC’s low-emissions scenario; additional indirect power-sector cuts via building/energy measures). Tools inform urban master plans and development bank pipelines.
For project-level appraisal, the TEEMP suite estimates CO₂ and pollutant impacts across roads, BRT, metro, bikeways, walkability, pricing, and eco-driving, with variants for multi-project city systems—used by ADB/GEF and tested on World Bank projects. At the policy level, CAA contributed visioning/backcasting tools for the ASEAN long-term transport plan to map avoid–shift–improve roadmaps to 2050.
Recognizing the centrality of walking, CAA’s multi-country Walkability initiative gathered infrastructure/policy/perception data across Asian cities (findings: pedestrians often face “walk at your own risk” conditions; facilities for persons with disabilities score lowest). Outputs include car-free days, a walkability website and Asia’s first Google walkability app to crowdsource street-level assessments, plus Complete Streets trainings for local officials.
Clean Fuels & Vehicles (CFV) — standards, fuel economy, in-use fleets
CAA’s Road Map for Cleaner Fuels & Vehicles—developed with governments, industry, and experts—articulates a systems approach: regulate fuel quality and vehicle standards together, reduce sulfur (to ≤50 ppm), strengthen I/M for in-use fleets, and align tax/incentives to accelerate cleaner technologies. Workshops helped set adoption timelines (e.g., Euro 4 fuels/vehicles in the Philippines and Viet Nam by mid-2010s) and supported fuel economy baseline/standards work across ASEAN. CAA also advances programs to phase out high-emitting two-stroke vehicles and roll out clean fleet management for buses, trucks, and corporate/government fleets.
Green Freight & Logistics (GFL) — national initiatives and private-sector networks
Freight uses a growing share of transport energy; trucks are a small fraction of vehicles but a large share of emissions. Building on pilots in Guangzhou (that seeded a GEF project in Guangdong), the China Green Freight Initiative launched in 2012 (Ministry of Transport, CRTA), adapting SmartWay to China. CAA helps countries establish national programs via seminars, study tours, policy briefs, and works to mobilize the private sector through the Green Freight Asia Network (GFAN)—an Asian counterpart to SmartWay/Green Freight Europe—while developing indicators, datasets, and demonstration projects to build confidence in clean truck technologies.
“Beyond 2012” goals and roadmap
The report lays out 2016 goals and the path to reach them:
AQ&CC: adoption of PM₁₀/PM₂.₅ standards aligned with WHO interim targets; daily public reporting by million-plus cities; Clean Air Plans with annual progress.
LEUD: mainstream avoid–shift–improve strategies; routinely report transport/energy indicators; maintain/increase shares of public and non-motorized transport.
CFV: implement Euro 4-equivalent standards and fuel economy standards; strengthen I/M and fleet programs.
GFL: launch national green freight initiatives, build GFAN, and standardize data/indicators.
These are paired with three enabling roles: a Road Map for Better Air Quality in Asian Cities, a regional capacity/knowledge system, and sustained city support using the Scorecard → Clean Air Report → CAAP pathway.
Bottom line: 2011 consolidates CAA’s model—evidence → tools → capacity → policy → implementation—and sets measurable regional goals. The emphasis on cities, transport, and freight, coupled with fuel/vehicle standards, walkability, and data transparency, forms a coherent agenda to deliver cleaner air and climate co-benefits across Asia.
Keywords
Better Air Quality (BAQ) Conference; Clean Air Asia (rebranding); Air Quality & Climate Change (AQ&CC); Low Emissions Urban Development (LEUD); Clean Fuels & Vehicles (CFV); Green Freight & Logistics (GFL); CitiesACT database; Clean Air Portal; Clean Air Scorecard; emissions inventory; Clean Air Action Plan; RACE tool; TEEMP; avoid–shift–improve; walkability; Complete Streets; fuel sulfur (≤50 ppm); Euro 4 standards; fuel economy standards; inspection & maintenance (I/M); Clean Fleet Management; China Green Freight Initiative; Green Freight Asia Network (GFAN); Yangtze & Pearl River Deltas; transparency & public reporting.