Commit to clean air for health

Goals, standards & plans

• Establish national air quality standards based on the WHO Ambient Air Quality Guidelines

• Include air pollution reduction strategies in policies for tackling non-communicable diseases

• Set a goal to reach WHO Ambient Air Quality Guidelines levels or interim levels for PM2.5 by a certain year

Policies & investments

• Reduce emissions of Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (methane, black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons)

• Urgently implement the Paris Agreement and scale-up ambition

Monitoring & forecasting

• Support air quality monitors in exposure hotspots, such as schools, hospitals, workplaces

• Ensure proper management, financial sustainability and maintenance of air quality monitors

• Expand disease surveillance systems (e.g. ISDR) to report on diseases linked to air pollution

Research

• Research on effective interventions to improve air quality and improve health, and limit climate change

• Research on transboundary pathways of pollutants with impacts on ecosystems and climate.

Advocacy & raising awareness

• Join the BreatheLife campaign, and build public support for bold actions

• Establish other multilateral initiatives etc. across organizations to improve ambient and/or household air quality

Capacity, education & training

• Include air pollution related issues in public health and medical educational programs

• Improve general knowledge of air pollution in education policies and programmes

• Train health workers to educate patients for dealing with episodes of high air pollution