The third International Day of Clean Air for blue skies was held on 7 September 2022, under the theme of 'The Air We Share.'
Air pollution knows no national borders and is all pervasive. Its adverse impact on human health, livelihood and environment affect us all.
messages from across the globe on world clean air day 2022.
THE THEME
the air we share.
The 2022 theme of “The Air We Share” focused on the transboundary nature of air pollution while highlighting the need of collected accountability and coordinated action. We all breathe the same air and share one atmosphere that protects and sustains all life on earth. The theme stressed on the need for increased global and regional cooperation to take actions toward mitigation of air pollution. It built on the theme from 2021 of “Healthy Air, Healthy Planet”.
Clean air is not only essential to the environment, but to people’s health.
Air pollution doesn’t have to be a part of our collective future. We have the solutions and must take the necessary actions to #BeatAirPollution, we must ensure #WorldCleanAirDay becomes a global call for action that leads to long-term and transformative change to ensure clean air for future generations.
building the global movement.
The Day generated a buzz with wide scale participation and engagement seen from across the world. This included:
- Over 93,000 page views during the month of September with nearly 16,000 downloads of different content.
- The most popular pages on site were the 'Home Page', 'Frequently Asked Questions', 'Register Your Event' and the 'Featured Updates.'
- Most traffic came from India, Vietnam, Iraq, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Mexico, Algeria and Cambodia.
- The most engaged audience groups were between the ages of 18 and 34 years, which is reflective of increasing interest amongst the youth and their drive for change.
telling the story.
A full series of articles and stories were produced in the build up to and on the Day itself to bring the conversation on air pollution, particularly around its theme, to centre stage:
- A total of 11 stories were posted on the Day's official website.
- More than 110 online events were registered and observed.
- All content was produced in multiple languages, i.e., Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Kiswahili, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
caring for the air we share.
The Day saw stakeholders partaking in the observance the world over - from government entities and civil society organisations to private-sector companies and individuals. Scientists from across the world came together in the #WorldCleanAirDay Science Group, organised by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), to produce new data.
This cutting-edge science was used to create a range of engaging visual assets for the Day, including the Quiz, an air pollution FAQ, a Public Service Announcement, an Interactive Practical Guide and the updated Pollution Dashboard.
On 7 September 2022, UNEP launched a Public Service Announcement to inspire people to take action to reduce air pollution and bring a transformative change for the air we share. The video has been viewed over a million times through UNEP's digital and social media channels and was also featured across the Bangkok Mass Transit System in Thailand for almost a month- with a viewership of over 1.9 million people per day.
THE STATE OF GLOBAL AIR: The Pollution Action Note.
The Pollution Action Note, originally launched in 2021, was updated by the #WorldCleanAirDay Science Group, organised by the CCAC, to reflect latest data, also in line with the new WHO air quality guidelines, as well as policy actions. Since its launch, the Pollution Action Note has been seen over 10,000 times, with referrals from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Guardian and more. The Action Note highlights:
- The threat posed by air pollution to public health accounting for an estimated 7 million premature deaths every year.
- The close interlinkage of air pollution with climate change as all major pollutants have an impact on the climate and most share common sources with greenhouse gases.
- The need to drive transparency and accountability and accentuate the urgency to act around the pollution issue.
Taking Action for 'The Air We Share'.
Content created for the Day was shared across UNEP's corporate communication channels including social media platforms, i.e., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.
- The two hashtags were intertwined, i.e., #WorldCleanAirDay and #TheAirWeShare
- Total reach was close to 6 million users across all UNEP channels and in all languages.
- Twitter had the higher reach with Instagram coming close in terms of user engagement.
Among The best performing content across all platforms was the AR filter which received over 58 thousand engagements, followed by the Interactive Infographics produced for the day and the pollution Action Note.
The top posts per platform were:
Twitter: The Pollution Action Note lead charts with over a million in reach, followed very closely by a post on the Interactive Practical Guide.
Instagram:
Facebook: The Interactive was widely received with over 350,000 views; followed by the AR filter, which met with huge success with more than 163 thousand views thanks to the engagement of two UNEP Goodwill Ambassadors, i.e., Antoinette Taus and Alex Rendell.
LinkedIn: The quiz outperformed all other content with close to 181 thousand reached.
Key Influential Voices Lend Their Support.
Several key influencers joined the community of action to further amplify the #WorldCleanAirDay, including, Antoinette Taus, Alex Rendell, Dia Mirza, Rocky Dawuni, Roberta Annan, and Formula-E Ambassador Lucas Di Grassi and political leaders including the heads of UNEP, WHO, UNECE, and WEF, former UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, the Ministers of Environment of Cambodia, Chile, Maldives, and Pakistan.
The Chief Scientists of UNEP, IUCN, WMO and WHO released a joint statement calling for joint action on transboundary air pollution.
Be the change you want to see in the world.
Youth led the way for a more interactive and inclusive conversation on Clean Air.
Young people’s participation in the Day was crucial to reach online audiences and inspire commitment from all generations. With over 500 registrants, the youth flagship event brought together advocates from across regions to discuss ideas and solutions to tackle air pollution.
Prominent young leaders and influencers raised awareness for the Day through interactive social media content. Environmental advocates, such as Media Personality, Laura Tobon, and TikToker, Tara Bellerose, joined the call on social media through interactive stories and videos. Youth engagement produced over 178,758 impressions from Instagram Stories and 32,760 from TikTok reels and video views.
Asia and the Pacific
Activities were held all across the region and regional social media assets were made available in English, Thai, Bahasa and Korean and reached 12.6 million people across Facebook and Twitter.
Asia Pacific Commemoration of the 3rd International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, Bangkok, Thailand
This year’s commemoration, organised by UNEP and UNESCAP, sponsored by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Thailand, and supported by the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea gathered over 50 participants from Embassies and UN agencies on-site and over 1,000 participants online.
"Fourth Asia Pacific Clean Air Partnership (APCAP) Joint Forum," Suwon City, Republic of Korea
Attended by over 400 participants from 52 countries, the fourth Asia Pacific Clean Air Partnership (APCAP) Joint Forum, hosted by the Gyeonggi Provincial Government of the Republic of Korea, was successfully held from 5 to 7 September 2022 under the theme ‘The Air We Share: Scaling up governance, legislation, and finance action.' Key messages, as six Building Blocks to Protect the Air We Share in Asia-Pacific, that came out from the proceedings can be accessed through this link:
"Strengthening Capacities for Air Quality Management in India," New Delhi, India
UNEP and PayTM through the Air Quality Action Forum (AQAF), in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the International Forum for Environment, Sustainability, and Technology, hosted an event at India Habitat Centre. The event facilitated focused discussions on building capacities for air quality management in India, while also underscoring the progress made and the future opportunities for improvement.
Mongolia also took the lead in organising large number of engagement activities and producing content in the local language. As part of this engagement and among other news media interviews, Kaveh Zahedi, Deputy Executive Director of ESCAP was interviewed by Mongolian National Broadcasting (MNB) for their prime time news programme MM News.
Europe and Central Asia
In line with the Day, UNEP's Europe Regional Office launched a report, Air quality in Bishkek: an assessment of emission sources and roadmap for supporting air quality management, together with the UNDP and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The paper provides policymakers with the strongest scientific basis to date for taking impactful action to tackle air pollution in the Kyrgyz capital. Emissions from the residential sector (households heating with sulfur-rich coal), were identified as the cause of Bishkek’s most dangerous air pollution. The findings have supported decisions by development banks, such as the World Bank, to channel major investments into reducing emissions from the housing and transport sectors. Millions of readers were reached through at least 46 media articles, including TV and web coverage by BBC Kyrgyzstan.
The Regional Office disseminated a video by UNEP Champion of the Earth Maria Kolesnikova on the air quality challenge in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, and how her MoveGreen NGO has taken action to raise awareness and improve air quality monitoring.
The UNEP in Europe team joined forces with the UN Country Team in Serbia, where we are very active on air quality, to issue a press release aimed at a national audience. The press release shared global messaging on the Day and called for joint efforts from government, civil society and citizens to fight all forms of air pollution. This led to dozens of media articles.
North America
- In partnership with World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), UNEP North America hosted a flagship Clean Air Day event in Washington, DC: “Sharing the Air in North America.” High-level representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico addressed the actions that all three countries are cooperating on to improve air quality within the region.
A joint statement was issued by Jorge Daniel Taillant, Executive Director, Commission for Environmental Cooperation; Barbara Hendrie, Director, United Nations Environment Programme, North America Office; and Ani Dasgupta, President & CEO, World Resources Institute
West Asia
- UNEP Representative and Regional Director for West Asia Mr. Sami Dimassi in his video message urged all stakeholders to treat clean air as a human right and to change habits and practices that lead to polluted air and for adopting integrated approaches for clean air solutions, switching to clean and renewable energy, strengthening waste prevention and recycling programmes and implementing circular economy initiatives to preserve the #TheAirWeShare.
Latin America and the Caribbean
- UNEP announced on the Day a new partnership with the Environmental Defence Fund aiming to strengthen the cooperation between both organisations and find solutions to improve air quality, and advance global health and climate goals in countries throughout Latin American and the Caribbean.
- A new Regional Action Plan on Air Quality 2022-2025, which follows work undertaken on atmospheric pollution at the XXII Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean, was unveiled.
New York
The UNEP New York office, together with the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the UN, the WHO, and the CCAC, organised the official commemoration for the Day on September 7. The event was attended by representatives from government, civil society, international organisations, and the private sector who shared their experiences on actions and solutions to tackle air pollution collectively. The discussions highlighted the transboundary nature of air pollution, emphasising the need for collective accountability and action.
To win any battle, we need to know our enemy. UNEP, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, and their and its partners, such as the WHO, are constantly updating the science on air pollution and researching new solutions. Read the reports linked below to find out everything you need to know so you can act appropriately.
There was large scale participation across different government bodies, UN agencies and key partners to make this Day a resounding success. Resources were contributed by the Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea and the Federal Ministry of Environment and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), through a Grant Agreement implemented through Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Coordination for the Day is led by UNEP's Pollution and Health Unit, UNEP's Communication Division and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.
