Urban Air Quality Management in Asia

1. Urban Air Quality Management in Asia Glynda Bathan Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities 13 September 2006 Karachi, Pakistan Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia A CAI-Asia Program

2. WHO (1979) TSP guideline, 60-90mg/m3 WHO SO2 guideline, 50mg/m3 WHO NO2 guideline, 40mg/m3 WHO (2005) PM10 guideline, 20mg/m3 Status of Air Quality in Asia • Ambient air quality in Asia is generally improving despite increase in motorization and energy use • Average ambient TSP, PM10 and SO2 trends are improving • Average ambient TSP and PM10, however, continue to exceed WHO guidelines • Average ambient SO2 is in compliance with WHO guideline • NO2 close to guidelines • Insufficient information on O3 for reliable trend analysis • It is uncertain whether the observed improvements in air quality will be sustained Aggregated Annual Ambient AQ Trends, mg/m3 (1993 to 2005)

3. Benchmarking Air Quality Management Capabilities in Asia • The Benchmarking study involved 20 cities in Asia representing various economic levels and geographic coverage. • The cities were categorized according to four AQM capability indices – 1) AQ measurement; 2) data availability and assessment; 3) emission estimates; and 4) AQ management enabling capacity. • Cities with high levels of economic development tend to have well-developed AQM systems • Benchmarking of AQM capability can assist cities in setting priorities and developing strategies for strengthening their AQM capability

4. Benchmarking UAQM Capability of Asian Cities Benchmarking Study Approach • In collaboration with Stockholm Environment Institute in their Air Pollution in the Megacities of Asia Project and the CAI-Asia Network City Profiles and AQ Data AQM Capability Questionnaire Compilation of information on current policy and practice for key components of AQM Questionnaire to assess AQM capability sent to city authorities

5. Air Quality Management Capabilities • Air Quality Measurement Index Assesses the ambient air monitoring taking place in a city and the accuracy and precision and representativeness of the data collected • Air Quality Data Assessment and Availability Index Assesses how air data is processed to value and provide information in a decision-relevant format. It also assesses the extent to which there is access to air quality information and data through different media • Emissions Estimate Index Assesses emission inventories undertaken to determine the extent to which decision-relevant information is available about source pollution in the city • Air Quality Management Index Asseses the administrative and legislative framework through which emission control strategies are introduced to manage air quality

6. Air Quality Measurement Index • Six cities measure the acute and chronic health effects for all criteria compounds (NO2, SO2, PM, CO, Pb, O3) • Nine cities measure trends in pollutant concentrations for all criteria compounds • Five cities measure the spatial distriubution for all compounds • 11 cities have the capacity to measure kerbside criteria for all compounds • Rigorous QA/QC criteria are applied in eight cities Minimal  Limited  Moderate  Good Excellent 

7. Air Quality Assessment and Availability Index • 11 cities undertake prediction modelling for pollutants monitored • 11 cities have undertaken epidemiological studies • 10 cities issue air quality alerts • 9 cities undertake spatial mapping of pollutants • 11 cities formally publish AQ data Minimal  Limited  Moderate  Good Excellent 

8. Online Ambient Air Quality Data of Selected Asian Cities Online AQ Information

9. Emission Estimates Index • 14 cities have emission estimates for major source categories (industrial, mobile and domestic/commercial) • 15 cities have emission estimates for all criteria pollutants (PM, CO, SO2, NO2 and HC) • 8 cities have estimates of emissions based on actual measurements • 6 cities cross check estimates Minimal  Limited  Moderate  Good Excellent 

10. Air Quality Management Index • 11 cities have AQ standards for all criteria pollutants • 17 cities have emission limits and controls on stationary and mobile sources • 13 cities impose penalties for the exceedance of both stationary and mobile emissions Minimal  Limited  Moderate  Good Excellent 

11. Ambient Air Quality Standards in Asia • Most countries have more lenient standards than those prescribed by WHO and USEPA • Standards for PM10 have been largely based on USEPA limits • There is a need to review current PM standards – Europe has moved PM10 limit to 50µg/m3 limit for 24-hour averages and 40 µg/m3 for annual averages • In some cases, AQ monitoring plans/ systems, are inconsistent with the established standards

12. Comparison of PM Standards in Asia, Europe and US Source: Urban Air Pollution in Asian Cities (2006) - for publication

13. Vehicle Emission Standards Note: For light-duty vehicles Source: CAI-Asia, 2006

14. Public Transport Trends in Asia - BRT • TransJakarta, the 1st closed BRT system in Asia, will open 4 new corridors by December or a total of 7 busway corridors by the end of the year • Growing interest on BRT systems • PRC: Kunming, Chongqing, Beijing; • S. Korea (by 2012): Seoul, Inchon; • PHI: Metro Manila, Cebu; • IND: New Delhi (target 300km), Bangalore, Chennai Above: TransJakarta; Below: Beijing BRT. Photo credits: ITDP

15. Stationary Sources • Generally, countries in Asia have Industrial Emission Standards in place however strengthened implementation and monitoring is needed • Efforts to reduce industrial pollution in Asia often focus on developing environmental institutions and legal frameworks either through command-and-control regulations or through economic instruments • Reduction of air pollution from stationary sources in Asia are still mostly "end-of-pipe" treatments, while economic incentives are not optimized • Most Asian countries have adopted cleaner production strategies calling for substituting cleaner fuel sources and using fuels more efficiently

16. Conclusions • The identification of the stage of development in terms of AQM capability can assist cities in setting priorities and developing strategies to strengthen their AQM capability. • Cities with a relative low AQM capability need to focus on establishing or strengthening continuous air quality monitoring system and implementing basic control strategies. • All cities will need to first ensure that their AQM systems manage the traditional criteria pollutants such as CO, NOx, SO2, O3, TSP, and PM10 and then also PM2.5. • In addition, all countries should review their air quality standards in view of the new EU limit values and the new WHO guideline values

17. Conclusions (2) Contact: Glynda Bathan, gbathan@adb.org Cornie Huizenga, chuizenga@adb.org www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia