Air pollution is not only a regional issue, but it affects countries worldwide and emissions from one country can travel thousands of kilometers to impact local air quality in another country.
To discuss remaining concerns, new challenges, including the global dimension of the air pollution issue, and emerging topics in the field of air pollution, about 300 policymakers from the UNECE region and beyond, experts and scientists met in Gothenburg, Sweden (19-21 March 2018), for a workshop on “Clean Air for a Sustainable Future – Goals and Challenges”.
Organized by the by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute in close collaboration with the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention), the workshop focused on themes of relevance for both science and policy and included sessions on clean cities, clean air globally, the way forward in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, air pollution effects on ecosystems and the link to climate, and sectors, sources and solutions for further emission reductions.
The recommendations include the need to exert more pressure in sectors where such measures are currently lagging behind, such as agriculture, international shipping and household solid fuel burning, and to clarify how various international organisations can collaborate more effectively. These recommendations will provide further input to the update of the long-term strategy that Convention Parties are currently discussing.