Kathmandu: Representatives from the SAARC Member States met to develop a regional response to address health and livelihood challenges arising from poor air quality and its intersection with adverse impact of climate change in Kathmandu on June 15 and June 16. The representatives exchanged national experiences in tackling air pollution, observed best practices in other regions and adopted a draft South Asia Clean Air Action Plan.
SAARC stated that the holding of the workshop underlined that air pollution is a growing and urgent transboundary problem with public health consequences, and that SAARC attaches importance to jointly confronting it.
The workshop was a follow-through on the recommendations of the Fifth Meeting of the Inter-Governmental Expert Group Meeting on Climate Change held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2024 to facilitate full implementation of the Thimphu Statement on Climate Change.
The organization further stated that the second phase of the workshop is scheduled to be held by the end of 2026 to endorse the draft South Asia Clean Air Action Plan. The inauguration of the workshop was graced by Rajendra Prasad Mishra, Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests, and Environment of Nepal.
The Asian Development Bank provided the technical and financial support for the workshop.
