It’s clean air season at WRI!

To commemorate International Clean Air for blue skies Day, join us in August and September 2025 for a series of webinars sharing new data and insights from our recently concluded programs to achieve healthier lives in cities through action on air pollution.

Registration links and videos of past webinars are available below.

 

Context

Air pollution is the top environmental risk to public health worldwide and an immense challenge to sustainable development in low- and middle-income countries. Successfully tackling it can make urban areas more climate-friendly, livable, productive, and equitable places to live.

The Clean Air Catalyst was a global partnership launched in 2020 by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and a consortium led by WRI and Environmental Defense Fund that included Columbia University, Internews/Environmental Journalism Network, MAP-AQ, OpenAQ, and Vital Strategies. It focused on designing and testing an integrated, catalytic approach to clean air in three cities: Indore, India; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Nairobi, Kenya. With the closure of USAID, the program is concluding in September with the handover of monitoring equipment to local governments and the finalization of multi-year scientific and policy studies to inform future decision-making.

The Southeast Asia Community of Practice was funded by the U.S. State Department until January 2025 to provide a platform for air quality practitioners in the region to connect, exchange knowledge and share best practices and tools for air quality management and short-lived climate pollutant reduction. The initiative will conclude with two webinars focused on air pollution forecasting and early warning systems.

 

Webinars

 

Air Quality Data Insights from India, Indonesia and Kenya: The Source Awareness Approach to Clean Air

Date: August 7th. 09.00 EDT / 14.00 BST / 16.00 EAT / 18.30 IST / 20.00 WIB

A 1.5-hour virtual workshop for Clean Air Catalyst consortium members and collaborators to present policy-relevant scientific findings on the sources of air pollution in three cities: Indore, Nairobi and Jakarta.

By adopting Source Awareness as its guiding principle, the Clean Air Catalyst sought to improve monitoring and data analysis capabilities and deepen understanding of the sources of air pollution and their impact on health, climate, gender, and equity. In this webinar, principal investigators from the three cities will present an overview of the scientific findings.

Highlighted Speakers: 

  • Beatriz Cardenas, WRI
  • Ramon Alvarez, Environmental Defense Fund
  • Prakash Doraiswamy, WRI
  • Satya Utama, WRI
  • Danny Djarum, WRI
  • George Mwaniki, WRI

 

Community Power for Clean Air: Lessons in Equity and Inclusion from Jakarta, Indore, and Nairobi

Date: September 4th, 0:00-11:30 BST / 12:00-13:30 EAT /13:30-15:00 IST / 16:00-17:30 WIB

The 1.5-hour webinar will spotlight grassroots organizations and women, share practical strategies for mainstreaming equity and inclusion in clean air solutions, and inspire cross-city learning and collaboration among air quality and climate practitioners, community organizers, and policymakers.

Air pollution disproportionately impacts urban poor communities – especially women – yet their lived experiences are not well-reflected in the data or research and their voices are often absent from decision-making processes. This virtual event brings together stories and lessons from the Clean Air Catalyst, which worked in close partnership with grassroots organizations and communities to amplify their existing efforts, insights, and leadership in order to accelerate equitable clean air solutions.

 

Clean Air and Healthy Cities: Accelerating Equitable Air Quality Solutions in Indore, Nairobi and Jakarta

Date: September 8th, 08:00 - 09:15 DC / 13:00 - 14:15 UK / 15:00 - 16:15 Nairobi / 17:30 - 18:45 Delhi / 19:00 - 20:15 Jakarta 

This 1.5-hour webinar will highlight insights and lessons from the Clean Air Catalyst’s data-to-action approach to accelerating equitable clean air action solutions for those working in air quality, climate, urban planning, health, gender and equity, and international development.

Clean Air Catalyst partners and collaborators come together to reflect on action areas for accelerating clean air solutions in rapidly developing cities of the Global South in the context of significant geopolitical change and reflect on good practices for integrating research and policy through source awareness, gender and social equity, and targeted engagement. This webinar offers practical insights and recommendations on deepening understanding of pollution sources and their interdependencies; bridging the gap between air quality research and politically informed implementation; engaging media and building coalitions for action; and developing solutions that integrate with municipal policymaking and governance processes.

 

Southeast Asia Air Quality Community of Practice: Pollution Forecasting

Air quality in Southeast Asia is highly dynamic, influenced by complex factors including seasonal monsoons, agricultural and forest fire emissions, industrial output, and dense urban traffic. This volatility makes it challenging for governments and citizens to anticipate and mitigate the impacts of poor air quality. Accurate air quality (AQ) forecasting transforms this uncertainty into actionable intelligence, shifting the paradigm from reactive response to proactive protection. For public health, it provides the critical lead time needed to issue alerts, allowing vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and individuals with respiratory conditions to take preventative measures like reducing outdoor activity or wearing masks. For governance, it enables authorities to implement timely, evidence-based emergency measures, such as temporary traffic restrictions or industrial emission controls, to prevent pollution episodes from escalating into public health crises. 

Recognizing this critical need, this two-part webinar series is therefore designed to bridge that gap. By focusing first on the strategic value of forecasting with lessons from existing initiatives, and second on the technical foundations of model development, this series will empower a wide range of stakeholders to harness the power of predictive tools for cleaner air across Southeast Asia.

 

Webinar 1: The 'Why' – Unlocking the Value of Air Quality Forecasting 

Date: July 22nd, 09.00 WIB

Video link TBA

 

Webinar 2: The "How" - A Technical Introduction to Building AQ Forecast Models

Date: August 26th, 09.00 WIB