cai-asia center business plan 2011-2012 - final

Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) Center

Business Plan 2011 2012

Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) Center FINAL - March 2011

CAI-Asia Center Business Plan 2011-2012 FINAL

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 2

2. ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................................... 4

2.1 CAI-Asia Center as a trusted authority and partner ................................................................... 4

2.2 Expand involvement of CAI-Asia Partnership members and other organizations ....................... 5

2.3 Strengthen and expand presence in Asian countries ................................................................. 6

2.4 Run operations efficiently and effectively ................................................................................. 7

2.5 Attract, retain and develop Center staff ................................................................................... 8

2.6 Ensure financial sustainability .................................................................................................. 9

3. STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK, SCOPE AND PRIORITY AREAS ................................................................. 12

3.1 Strategic Framework for Air Pollution and GHG Reductions .................................................... 12

3.2 Scope and Priorities ............................................................................................................... 15

a. Target Audience ......................................................................................................................... 15

b. Geographic Coverage ................................................................................................................. 15

c. Priority Areas ............................................................................................................................. 16

4. PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES FOR 2011-2012..................................................................................... 17

4.1 Outcome 1. Strengthened and harmonized regional and national and policies and standards 17

a. Roadmap for Air Quality Standards ............................................................................................ 17

b. Roadmap for Clean and Efficient Fuels and Vehicles ................................................................... 18

4.2 Outcome 2. Enhanced national and local frameworks for sound policies, programs and urban development ..................................................................................................................................... 19

a. Plans and Policies that Integrate Management of Air Quality and Climate Change ..................... 19

b. Plans and Policies for low emissions sustainable urban development, covering the transport sector and energy use .................................................................................................................... 20

c. Green Freight Program in Asian countries .................................................................................. 21


4.3 Outcome 3. Increased awareness and access to information tools and partners ..................... 21

a. Awareness: Save the Air Campaign ............................................................................................. 21

b. Knowledge Management ........................................................................................................... 22

c. Tools and Methodologies ........................................................................................................... 23

d. Better Air Quality conferences ................................................................................................... 24

e. Collaboration with Governments and Intergovernmental Bodies ............................................... 24

f. Working with Cities and City Network ......................................................................................... 25

g. Engaging the Academic and Research Institutions ...................................................................... 26

h. Engaging the Private sector ........................................................................................................ 27

i. Engaging Development agencies, donors and foundations .......................................................... 28

j. Collaboration with Regional Partnerships .................................................................................... 28

k. Clean Air & Blue Skies for Asia Exchange Program ...................................................................... 29

About CAI-Asia

The Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) promotes better air quality and livable cities by translating knowledge to policies and actions that reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from transport, energy and other sectors. CAI-Asia was established in 2001 by the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and USAID, and is part of a global initiative that includes CAI-LAC (Latin American Cities) and CAI-SSA (Sub-Saharan Africa).

Since 2007, this multi-stakeholder initiative is a registered UN Type II Partnership with almost 200 organizational members and eight Country Networks (China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam). The secretariat of the Partnership is CAI-Asia Center, a non-profit organization headquartered in Manila, Philippines, with offices in China and India. Individuals can join CAI-Asia by registering at the Clean Air Portal: www.cleanairinitiative.org. Its flagship event, the Better Air Quality conference, brings together over 700 air quality stakeholders.

CAI-Asia Center Unit 3504-5 Robinsons-Equitable Tower ADB Avenue, Pasig City, 1605 Metro Manila, Philippines [email protected] www.cleanairninitiative.org

CAI-Asia China Office Room 601B AVIC Tower B10 Dong San Huan Zhoung Lu Road, Chaoyang District Beijing, China [email protected]

CAI-Asia India Office 257 Regus Elegance Elegance Tower, Jasola New Delhi 110025, India [email protected]


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1. INTRODUCTION

The Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) was established in 2001 a joint initiative by the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and the United States Asia Environmental Partnership (USEAP) a project of USAID). It is part of a global Clean Air Initiative, which also includes sister initiatives for Latin American Cities (CAI-LAC) and in Sub-Saharan Africa (CAI-SSA). CAI-Asias mission is to promote better air quality and livable cities by translating knowledge to policies and actions that reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from transport, energy and other sectors. Since its establishment in 2001, CAI-Asia has grown to become the main regional initiative on urban air quality management (AQM). CAI-Asia has demonstrated its ability to collect and document knowledge, convene stakeholders and shape and influence standards and policies on management of air quality and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Asian cities. In 2007, CAI-Asia was reorganized as the CAI-Asia Partnership (Partnership), a United Nations Type II partnership, with almost 200 member organizations in Asia and worldwide and supervised by a Partnership Council.1 In June 2007, as part of a strategy to ensure the future sustainability of the organization, the CAI-Asia Center (Center) was incorporated as an independent international non-profit organization with headquarters in Manila, Philippines. In 2010, the China office of the CAI-Asia Center was formally registered under the China Association of NGOs (CANGO) and is based in Beijing. In the same year, the process of registering the India office was initiated and formal registration will be finalized in 2011. The Center works together with and is the secretariat of CAI-Asia Country Networks (Country Networks) in China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. The establishment of a Country Network in Bangladesh is under consideration. Aside from China and India, where offices are lead by the China Representative and India Representative respectively, a Country Network Coordinator coordinates CAI-Asias activities with stakeholders in the six other countries:

Indonesia: Indonesia Clean Air Forum (Forum Udara Bersih Indonesia) Nepal: Clean Air Network Nepal (CANN) hosted by Clean Energy Network Pakistan: Pakistan Clean Air Network (PCAN) International Union of Nature Conservation (IUCN) Philippines: Partnership for Clean Air (PCA), which office is located at the CAI-Asia Center Sri Lanka: Clean Air Sri Lanka (CASL), hosted by the Ministry of Environment Vietnam: Vietnam Clean Air Partnership (VCAP)

1 See http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/node/3390 for an overview of the current operating guidelines. See

http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/members/partnership for a list of current members.


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Figure 1. Structure of CAI-Asia

The Center is governed by its Articles of Incorporation, By-laws and Operations Manual approved by its Board of Trustees (BoT).2 The By-laws of the CAI-Asia Center call for the development of a two-year Business Plan. This document is the Business Plan of the CAI-Asia Center and covers the period January 2011 to December 2012. The Business Plan aims to contribute to the implementation of the CAI-Asia Strategy, which covers the period 2009-2012.3 Other member organizations of the Partnership will also undertake activities and provide funding to support the implementation of the CAI-Asia Strategy. The Business Plan also takes into account past activities and projects and future ones, which have been approved or are being proposed. The Business Plan presents:

Organizational development goals for CAI-Asia and planned activities in support of these (chapter 2). Strategic framework, scope and priority areas (chapter 3). Main projects and activities planned for 2011-2012 (chapter 4).

Annual work plans and annual budgets for 2011 and 2012 are prepared separately for approval by the Board of Trustees of the Center.

2 See http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/knowledgebase/documents/IncorporationPapers for the Articles of Incorporation and By-laws of the CAI-Asia Center. See http://www.cleanairinitiative.org/portal/node/2276/edit for current BoT members 3 See http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/node/2226 for the CAI-Asia Partnership Strategy 2009-2012.


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2. ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The CAI-Asia Center is a non-stock, non-profit organization, and has identified six organizational development goals. The table below lists these goals and how progress towards these goals will be measured at the end of 2011 and 2012. The next sections describe activities under each goal. Organizational Goals How measured

Enhance CAI-Asia Centers recognition as a trusted authority, thought leader and partner on AQM and climate change mitigation covering transport, energy and other sectors in Asia by influential stakeholders in key positions in government, private sectors, and wider AQM community, and by the public

Number of articles, TV/radio appearances, keynote speeches, meeting chairs; participation in committees and advisory board

Number of requests for information, assistance, publication references (as measured through CAI-Asia log)

Number of meetings with senior policy/decision makers Rating of survey respondents on CAI-Asias role

Expand the involvement of CAI-Asia Partnership members and other organizations in activities of the CAI-Asia Center and Country Networks.

Percentage of CAI-Asia Partnership members involved in CAI-Asia projects and activities

Number of organizations involved in projects and activities

Strengthen presence in countries with existing Country Networks and expand presence to other Asian countries

Number of projects and activities that include multiple Country Networks

Amount of funding resulting from projects secured by Country Networks directly

Number of ministries from Asian countries joined as new CAI-Asia Partnership members

Run operations efficiently and effectively through continued improvement of organizational management, financial and administrative systems, and program/project management.

Number of times positive feedback received from donors/clients through project evaluation forms

Number of serious risks/breaches identified through internal audits and financial audits

Readiness of financial system to be able to handle multi-million single grants

Enhance the ability to attract, develop and retain capable and confident staff at the CAI-Asia Center and at Country Networks.

Percentage of staff attending at least one training per year Percentage of staff leaving CAI-Asia for reasons that have

nothing to do with CAI-Asia (i.e. positive reasons)

Ensure medium-term financial sustainability by securing sufficient funds to cover core expenses and costs of expanding activities.

Number of repeat donors (i.e. multiple projects in a row) Number of new donors and Center members Number of secured projects where Board member(s) played a

main role Ability to secure at least one donor for program-based support

covering multiple years

2.1 CAI-Asia Center as a trusted authority and partner

Goal: Enhance CAI-Asia Centers recognition as a trusted authority, thought leader and partner on AQM and climate change mitigation covering transport, energy and other sectors in Asia by influential stakeholders in key positions in government, private sectors, and wider AQM community, and by the public.


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In support of CAI-Asias mission, very often the Center acts as a bridge between stakeholders to build knowledge and capacity, and develop policies and facilitate implementation of on-the-ground measures. To achieve this, the Center needs to have authoritative knowledge on AQ and GHG management problems and solutions, and related areas. Moreover, it is imperative that organizations and individuals that the Center wants to work with trust us. More organizations and individuals will want to work with the CAI-Asia Partnership, Center and Country Networks, if the CAI-Asia Center is a recognized and trusted organization by its stakeholders and the public. Main activities for 2011-2012 are listed below. Detailed communication activities are included in the Work Plans for 2011 and 2012.

Expand knowledge with different areas especially health impacts of air quality, stationary sources, energy, and livable cities

Enhance CAI-Asias visibility and brand recognition by being contributing/lead author of reputable research and publications; participation in committees and advisory board; writing opinion editorial articles, TV appearances, keynote speeches, and chairing meetings

Expand CAI-Asias media network and establish a media contact database for own use Actively reach out to the senior policy makers at key ministries in Country Networks through face-to-

face meetings, briefings, and providing substantial inputs upon request

Conduct a survey of Country Network and CAI-Asia partner organizations and stakeholders to assess CAI-Asia as a trusted authority, thought leader and partner, and identify areas for improvement

Relevant activities that we aim to conduct with the support of donors under projects are described in section 4.3.

2.2 Expand involvement of CAI-Asia Partnership members and other organizations

Goal: Expand the involvement of CAI-Asia Partnership members and other organizations in activities of the CAI-Asia Center and Country Networks. The CAI-Asia Partnership is a United Nations Type II partnership, with almost 200 member organizations.4 I In addition, several organizations with whom the Center collaborates are not members of the Partnership. Development agencies and the private sector are currently underrepresented, although the Center has strong working relationships with development agencies, donors and foundations overall. While there are many city members, they are less active than other groups. Main activities for 2011-2012 in support of this goal are listed below. Detailed activities are included in the Work Plan for 2011 and 2012

Revisit the Partnership Council composition and terms of reference. The Partnership Council will have a representative from NGOs and from academic/research institutes separately to improve representation from both groups, especially as they represent the largest number of Partnership

4 For a list of members see http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/members/partnership


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members. This is possible because the Partnership Council can have 5-10 members. The main purpose of the Partnership Council in the future will be to advise on the BAQ conference, as this is the flagship event of the Partnership. They would be supplemented with representatives from the host country/city and the CAI-Asia Center to form the BAQ Advisory Committee.

Continue to strengthen the BAQ conference as an event organized with strong involvement of CAI-Asia Partnership members and build BAQ in CAI-Asia and members projects and activities (see section 4.3).

Develop guidance for the Partnership that explains benefits, rights, and non-rights of members to avoid misuse for CAI-Asia association

Conduct 10 Years of CAI-Asia Partnership celebration in 2011 to grow the AQ community and expand memberships to more relevant stakeholders and to communicate the needs and achievements of the AQ community in Asia. Each Country Network will be encouraged to have at least one major event in each of their locality. CAI-Asia will adopt a new logo for the year 2011 as part of the celebration.

Create a mechanism to communicate on a quarterly basis with all Partnership members.

Communication should be directed at the five stakeholder types separately containing tailored information. On an annual basis, a Partnership Member package will be sent to new and existing partners every year containing the annual report. For each membership organization a page will be created on the Clean Air Portal with their profile and basic information.

Invite key ministries, city leagues or associations in each country, cities we work with directly, private sector companies to be a member of the CAI-Asia Partnership. Leading academic institutions in the countries where CAI-Asia has a Country Network will be invited to be part of the Capacity Building Advisory Group created under the CAI-Asia Partnership.

Include existing partners in projects and activities where appropriate. Section 4.3 explains our collaboration with individual stakeholder groups of the CAI-Asia Partnership under projects in more detail.

2.3 Strengthen and expand presence in Asian countries

Goal: Strengthen presence in countries with existing Country Networks and expand presence to other Asian countries Country Networks share CAI-Asia's common vision of better air quality for Asia. They are part of the CAI-Asia Partnership and are CAI-Asia offices (China and India), organized as registered associations or non-stock, non-profit entities, or informal networks. Country Networks exist in China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. Activities to strengthen these for 2011-2012 are described below.


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Detailed communication activities are included in the Work Plan for 2011 and 2012 and in work plans for each Country Network.

Enhance profile and impact develop strong relationships with stakeholders (e.g., dialogues);

communicate effectively with stakeholders (e.g., newsletters, website); invite Coordinators to international workshops/ trainings to improve their knowledge and skills; seek staff exchange opportunities between Center and Country Networks.

Secure financial sustainability identify sources of financing within the countries; organize dialogues with development partners; develop proposals for new projects; leverage from BAQ conferences to identify new organizations to work with

Strengthen the collective branding of and increasing cooperation between Country Networks hold annual Country Network Summits to share experiences, plans and identify areas for collaboration and replication of successful projects done in other countries; develop project proposals that involve multiple countries

As determined in the CAI-Asia Partnership Strategy, by 2012, we may establish more new Country Networks, including in Bangladesh and Thailand. However, what is more important is that CAI-Asia strengthens relationships with government (especially environment ministries) and stakeholders in Asian countries where no Country Network exists, and a decision on whether to set up a formal Country Network is secondary and depends primarily on demand from local stakeholders to establish a Country Network, availability of funds and staff capacity. CAI-Asia will continue to work with Japan, Korea and Singapore and countries outside Asia to assist developing Asian countries.

2.4 Run operations efficiently and effectively

Goal: Run operations efficiently and effectively through continued improvement of organizational management, financial and administrative systems, and program/project management. The Centers management systems include:

Organizational management - (a) articles, by-laws and operations manual (b) Business Plan; (c) annual and quarterly reports; and (d) annual audited financial reports.

Financial and administrative system - (a) financial management; (b) contract management; (c) staff management; (d) time management; and (e) records management.

Program/project management - (a) proposals; (b) contracts and project documents; (c) work plans; (d) progress and final reports; (e) financial reports.

During 2011-2012, these systems will be further developed and strengthened, and the most important activities include

Hold monthly managers meetings covering financial situation, project status and providing an opportunity to discuss key risks and issues that need to be addressed. Continue with annual Strategic Planning Meetings with all staff members and management. The outcomes of these meetings are used for developing new or updating existing Business Plans.

Continue to conduct at least one internal audit of management systems per year, pending availability of funding. Possible audit areas for 2011 and 2012 are (a) personnel management; (b) legal requirements as an organization (e.g. permits, reports).


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Further improve the link between financial systems and program and project management and develop the financial system to be able to handle multi-million single grants.

Integrate or align management systems of the China and India offices with systems of the Center.

2.5 Attract, retain and develop Center staff

Goal: Enhance the ability to attract, develop and retain capable and confident staff at the CAI-Asia Center and at Country Networks The Center as of 1 January 2011 employs 11 full-time staff, one full-time outsourced accountant, 3 staff in the China office, 1 staff and 2 part-time advisors in the India office, and a coordinator for each other Country Network. New recruitments will depend on the need and availability of budget (which in turn depends on new projects) and are subject to approval by the Centers Board of Trustees. In addition, contractors or consultants may be hired for specific projects. Interns will be engaged to work on specific research topics relevant to CAI-Asias work. Under the Fredkorpset exchange program, at least one participant will be placed at the Center each year for ten months. The organizational structure will be revisited during 2011 and be made a main topic during the 2011 BoT meeting in Manila. The starting point is for CAI-Asia to be an international NGO, albeit with an Asian focus, as CAI-Asias areas of work and funding sources are similar to those of most other international NGOs. This should consider (a) the BoT role and composition (b) management structure (c) staff versus consultants (d) further integration of China and India office in the management of CAI-Asia (e) positioning of other Country Network Coordinators. The following will be done to attract new and retain existing staff members:

The remuneration and social benefits of staff members are competitive but have to remain competitive especially compared with other international NGOs/organizations in order to retain staff. Salary scales are reviewed for inflation adjustment every two years, and pay rises for outstanding performance are considered each year, and proposed adjustments are approved by the Remuneration Committee within the Board of Trustees.

Staff members are actively involved in the strategic planning of the Center (informally and through annual Strategic Planning Meetings) and in program and project development, to maximize ownership and motivation.

Staff development is improved through annual performance target setting and evaluation, which also considers medium-term career planning. Staff members attend at least one training course per year to develop their skills, and improve their technical skills and knowledge through training courses, attending conferences or seminars, and other missions. Funds will continue to be allocated per staff member (US$ 2000 per year) for personal training or capacity building exercises and staff members can propose these. Possible skills courses that could be given to multiple staff are proposal writing, delivering presentations, and/or managing people. Consideration is given to include staff members in activities and projects that match their interests and allow them to further develop skills and knowledge. An alternative is organizing skills or technical training courses for all staff members, for example combined with the CN Summit.


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Other reasons cited by staff members working at the Center and interviewees are the personal motivation to work for a good cause like air quality and climate change, a sense of achievement through the Centers projects, the international exposure, ability to travel, the extensive networking abilities, a relatively young team, and a pleasant working environment.

2.6 Ensure financial sustainability

Goal: Ensure medium-term financial sustainability by securing funding to cover core expenses and costs of expanding activities. Everyone at the Center and the Board of Trustees is responsible for raising funds. The Executive Director takes overall responsibility for securing funds through identifying opportunities for new members, projects and funding, while managers take the lead in developing proposals. The Board of Trustees provides entries to key persons of donor organizations, foundations and other organizations for new projects, and assists in recruiting new members. Aside from fundraising efforts, the Executive Director and the FAS Manager continuously seeks to identify opportunities for cost savings. Funding opportunities are currently largely driven by climate change, and more sector focused, including energy and transport. The realization that some air pollutants contribute to global warming and many air quality policy measures also help reduce CO2 emissions has not yet trickled through to donor agencies or climate change agreements. As a result, climate change has resulted in drainage of funds for other environmental areas, including AQM. We thus see a greater range of opportunities where air pollution is integrated with GHG mitigation, such as CO2 measurement methodologies or corporate GHG accounting that integrates air pollutants. Secondly, funds are mostly allocated to sectors (transport, energy) and there is an increasing focus on urban planning and development. Integration of air pollution and GHG emissions and including livable cities and sectors explicitly in our mission and outcomes, will make our program more attractive to donors whose focus is not on AQM specifically. For 2011-2012 the most important activities include

Recruit future Board members with fundraising abilities and ability to support the Center in financial planning and management

Seek to work with key partners for long-term program- and project-based support rather than a large group of changing donors

Align work plans with donors where our work overlaps on a case-by-case basis; redesign regional dialogues with development agencies (e.g. focus on financing/funds available and link to national strategies and priorities)

Developing separate fundraising plans for activities that are less likely to be (fully) supported by single donors, especially for the BAQ 2012 Conference, Save the Air Campaign, and a set of smaller activities in the Philippines.

Requesting companies that approach the Center for collaboration in Asia to become paying members of the Center.

Preparation of an overview of CAI-Asias main projects/activities and achievements especially since 2007, which can aide in informing potential donors of our track record and impacts.


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Our strategies for (a) securing program- and project-based support and (b) increasing membership contributions are further described below.

a. Program and project-based support

To date, the Center has been a project-funded organization, which in turn has enabled the Center to only focus on securing its short-term sustainability, i.e. covering the next financial year. Most projects are small (less than US$ 100,000) to medium sized (US$100,000 US$500,000) with the medium-sized projects coming mostly from ADB and World Bank and covering 2-3 years. The aim for 2011 onwards is to secure program-based support from at least one single donor of US$ 0.5 1.5 million per year for the next 2-5 years (for comparison the Centers annual budget varied from US$ 1.5 2 million per year since 2007). This will enable the Center to maintain a positive cash flow and allow activities to be driven by its mission rather than by funding sources and increase efficiency and impact. Furthermore, this would increase the flexibility of the Center to engage in partnership projects with shared costs. At the same time, small/medium sized and shorter term projects will continue to be part of the Centers portfolio, and can also be important to work on emerging issues and fill gaps (such as the Centers catalyst role in working on freight, walkability, and GHG measurement methods, which now is being picked up by donors and other NGOs alike). An important starting point is that all activities and projects that the Center gets involved in are assessed on whether they fit within the scope and priorities of the CAI-Asia Strategy 2009-2012 and of the CAI-Asia Center Business Plan 2011-2012. Many of the new projects and opportunities are based on priorities of partners and donors, where they match with CAI-Asia. For example, ADB indicated that the main (albeit not only) nexus for cooperation is the ADB Sustainable Transport Initiative, thus putting a bias towards transport versus air quality. The CAI-Asia Partnership membership also influences the focus of activities and projects. A strategy to increase efficiency and reduce costs associated with securing projects is to build on the strengthened relationships with several existing partners and donors, such as ADB, World Bank, GIZ and UNEP-PCFV. It is also in the interest of these organizations to continue working with CAI-Asia, largely due to our extensive network regionally and within countries, and our ability as an NGO to approach and involve different stakeholders quickly and directly. With regards to foundations, the Center will focus on continuing its work with foundations it has worked with during 2009-10 on small to medium-sized projects (such as FTI Foundation, FIA Foundation, and the Energy Foundation in China). Tools seem to work well with donors and with target groups (governments and companies). The Green Fleet Management Toolkit developed by PCFV with TNT has taken off, and the Center is involved in training delivery and case studies. The Clean Air Scorecard that was completed in November 2009, has generated a lot of interest, especially from ADB and WB, and can be relatively easy incorporated into projects

b. Membership fees

In 2010 the CAI-Asia Center had three corporate members (Shell, ACFA, Corning), jointly contributing US$ 90,000 annually. Due to the financial crisis, companies are finding it hard to support NGOs like CAI-Asia,


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either as a member or through BAQ. At the same time, as CAI-Asias presence in Asia and its track record of successful projects and achievements are increasing, more companies are approaching CAI-Asia for assistance or collaboration. This provides an opportunity to recruit new members. Members will be recruited on a case-by-case basis and often follows meeting companies at conferences and other events. The reason is that the membership fee is US$ 20,000 as a minimum, and time is more needed to develop medium (US$ 100,000 500,000) to larger proposals (US$ 500,000 to 1 million plus). In the Business Plan period, opportunities will also be investigated for endowments by large private sector companies for specific components of CAI-Asias program described in the next chapter, for example, for setting up a network of research institutions as private sector companies would potentially benefit greatly from such a network.


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3. STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK, SCOPE AND PRIORITY AREAS

3.1 Strategic Framework for Air Pollution and GHG Reductions

The strategic framework for CAI-Asias projects and activities is described in detail in the CAI-Asia Strategy 2010-2012. This model is illustrated in Figure 2, and involves two approaches:

Scaling out approach within cities focused (a) real improvements in air quality and livability of cities through on-the-ground actions; (b) integrating activities as part of wider urban planning; and (c) co-benefits of climate change and ultimately sustainable development.

Scaling up approach is required to reach approximately 2,500 Asian cities with over 100,000 inhabitants. Many of these cities fall outside any international or national program to strengthen institutional capacity to improve reduce air pollution and GHG emissions. As a consequence, they may adopt a business-as-usual approach, which is not sustainable. It is thus essential to replicate successful programs across Asian cities.

Figure 2. Strategic Framework for Reducing Air Pollution and GHG Emissions A critical success factor for CAI-Asia is its ability to connect stakeholders within cities, and to connect cities with national and international stakeholders. The mechanism Connecting Cities that CAI-Asia will apply is explained in the figures below. Although this approach applies for all of Asia, a tailored approach will be applied for China, South Asia and Southeast Asia.


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Local environmental agencies are connected with mayors and local government agencies (municipality, transport, energy, etc). Our aim will be to involve local academic and research institutes and NGOs in local projects to develop trusted partners at the local level, which will facilitate scaling up our activities.

Local environmental agencies vary between countries, for example, in China we work with Environmental Protection Bureaus (EPBs), in India with State Pollution Control Boards (PCB) that may have city offices.

Figure 3. Connecting Cities: Local level

A CAI-Asia City Network exists in China and will be established for India, South Asia, and Southeast Asia (see section 4.3-f). We also work with other cities on specific projects with donors, and with city associations to reach more cities.

Through national projects, city workshops (at least once per year) and policy briefs, cities will be connected with national environment ministries.

Environment ministries are connected with national and provincial government agenices, other national stakeholder groups, and the international community.

Figure 4. Connecting Cities: National level


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Countries, and the cities within them, are in turn connected at the regional level with eachother and the international community.

Governmental Meetings are held with environment ministries from CAI-Asia countries (dark blue) and other Asian countries (light blue). Cooperation also occurs at the subregional levels through regoinal bodies/initiatives for South Asia (e.g. Male Declaration) and Southeast Asia (e.g. ASEAN bodies)

Regional projects/activities, the Clean Air Portal and BAQ conferences help with knowledge exchange, and collaboration and streamlining between countries.

Figure 5. Connecting Cities: (Sub)Regional level

In addition, developing cities also need clearer and better guidance in developing a vision of a livable city and translating this into a low emissions urban development plan that focuses on policies and projects particularly for the transport sector and energy use (by buildings, homes, industry and others). The framework below depicts an inverted triangle that represents a paradigm shift framework for achieving sustainable and low emissions urban development in cities in four broad steps based on past experience in assisting cities in Asia:

Figure 6. Framework for Low Emissions Urban Development

Adapted from: CAI-Asia Center, 2009. Achieving Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asian Cities Discussion paper, funded by ADB/Sida, which includes a more detailed description of the steps applicable to the transport sector.


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This Framework integrates and builds on the 7-step process applied by development banks, such as ADB and World Bank, shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7. Loan and Project Development Process Applied by Development Banks

3.2 Scope and Priorities

The scope and priorities for the Center for 2011-2012 are based on those described in the CAI-Asia Strategy 2009-2012. These include (a) target audience; (b) geographic coverage; and (c) priority areas.

a. Target Audience

Local, provincial and national government agencies make decisions for cities and are therefore the primary target audience of the Center. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private sector, academic and research institutions, and development agencies and foundations are the secondary target audience, as they exercise influence over the decisions of policy makers. The broader public and the media are a third target audience.

b. Geographic Coverage

CAI-Asia conducts activities in South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia. Priority countries are those with a CAI-Asia Country Network: China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. A second priority is other developing Asian countries within the geographical scope of CAI-Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia and Thailand (Myanmar and the Republic of North Korea will not be considered). CAI-Asia works together with Japan, Korea and Singapore to assist developing Asian countries in learning from their experiences. CAI-Asias focus on Central Asia and the Middle East will be decided on a case-by-case basis. It is noted that no network or organization exists in the Middle East for air quality and GHG management, and it should be considered whether to expand certain activities to include the Middle East.

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c. Priority Areas

CAI-Asias priority areas are identified for the three outcomes:

Outcome 1: Strengthened and harmonized regional and national policies and standards Outcome 2: Enhanced national and local frameworks for sound policies, programs and urban

development

Outcome 3: Increased awareness and access to information, tools and partners Table 1 lists CAI-Asias three outcomes and priority areas under each. The rationale for each priority area is further described in the CAI-Asia Strategy. The next chapter goes into further detail for each priority area.

Table 1. CAI-Asias Outcomes and Priority Areas Outcomes and Priority Areas How measured Outcome 1: Strengthened and harmonized regional and national and policies and standards Design and facilitate the development and

implementation of a roadmap for air quality standards

Design and first draft of road map presented at the Fourth Governmental Meeting

Environment ministries are supportive of the process Number of requests fo#

Monitor, facilitate and support the implementation of roadmap for clean and efficient fuels and vehicles

A timeline and implementation has commenced in Pakistan, Philippines and Vietnam for the introduction of the next level Euro standards

Outcome 2: Enhanced national and local frameworks for sound policies, programs and urban development Facilitate development and implementation

of plans and policies that integrate management of air quality and climate change

Number of cities with plans, reports or other policy relevant documents that integrate/align air pollution and GHG emissions management

Support development and implementation of policies and plans for low emissions sustainable urban development, covering the transport sector and energy use

Number of Asian countries with improved policies or plans for low emissions cities and/or sustainable transport

Number of cities with increased public awareness and/or plans for improving walkability

Design and facilitate establishment of Green Freight Program in Asian countries

The establishment of a Green Freight China program is supported by main stakeholders

Number of countries with active interest in greening the (road) freight sector

Green Freight Network is established and is active (number of members, exchanges, and collaboration activities)

Outcome 3: Increased awareness and access to information, tools and partners Awareness: Save the Air Campaign for Asian

countries to improve public awareness and mobilize policy change

Campaign in Philippines is continuing and with tangible results in public awareness and policies

Number of other countries where a campaign has started (can be different from Philippines)

Information: Collect, analyze and disseminate information through Clean Air Portal, CitiesACT database, Communities, events, publications

Number of unique visitors of Clean Air Portal Number of cities included in the CitiesACT database with

comprehensive data Number of members and discussions on the Communities of

Practice For other measures see organizational goal 1

Tools: Develop and apply tools and methodologies for management of air

Degree of mainstreaming of TEEMP methodology in ADB and other relevant organizations


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Outcomes and Priority Areas How measured pollution and GHG emissions City emissions tool for transport and energy is developed and

successfully tested in selected cities Number of cities and companies to which tools developed by

CAI-Asia are applied Partners: Strengthen and expand existing,

and establish new partnerships and networks

Percentage of surveyed BAQ participants rating networking at BAQ as very good or excellent

Prominence of members of a regional network of academic / research institutes, and degree of activities / communication

Percentage of CAI-Asia projects and activities with active involvement of private sector organizations

Regional exchange program extends beyond the current funding cycle and with increased number of partners and participants

For other measures see organizational goal 1

4. PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES FOR 2011-2012

CAI-Asia projects and other activities will be selected based on whether they fall within the priority areas and contribute to the three outcomes. Annual Work Plans of the CAI-Asia Center and Country Networks list the actual projects and activities (based on funding secured) and measures progress in implementation on a quarterly basis, coinciding with quarterly reports to the Centers Board of Trustees and issuance of the external newsletter CAI-Asia News. Partner organizations for many of the projects and activities described in the next sections are already known but are not mentioned here to keep the Business Plan succinct or because the project is still at the proposal stage. In all cases, donors and partners of secured projects are listed on http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/whatwedo.

4.1 Outcome 1. Strengthened and harmonized regional and national and policies and standards

Asian cities and countries often respond to good examples in and peer pressure from neighboring countries and cities. Harmonized standards and policies allow comparison between countries and thus encourage lagging cities and countries to improve and collaborate with each other.

a. Roadmap for Air Quality Standards

A CAI-Asia survey showed that while most Asian countries have ambient air quality standards, there is no roadmap for bringing standards closer toward WHO guidelines and interim targets over time. The CAI-Asia Center wants to bring stakeholder organizations together to develop a roadmap for air quality standards. This roadmap will be similar to the Road Map for Cleaner Fuels and Vehicles in Asia (see item b) and would include (a) explanation of air pollution and associated risks and impacts (b) WHO guidelines and interim


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targets (c) status of ambient air quality standards in Asia (d) what steps can be taken to bring standards closer to WHO guidelines and interim values. The Third Governmental Meeting on Urban Air Quality held in November 2010, adopted this as a priority recommended area. Furthermore, Laos and Bhutan requested for support to the development of their ambient AQ standards. These activities will be linked to the Fourth Governmental Meeting on Urban Air Quality in Asia in 2012 and the implementation of the Long Term Vision on Urban Air Quality (see outcome 3). This would be managed by the CAI-Asia Center in Manila in partnership with UNEP. Funding is to be secured for these activities. We also seek to do work on the other priority areas recommended by environment ministries at the Governmental Meeting, as funding permits:

Conduct more health impact studies as a basis for policy development (our role would be to make findings from health impact studies more relevant to policy making)

Optimize resources by sharing and aligning databases on air quality (linked to the CitiesACT database)

Develop a common framework for an air quality index for Asia (our role could be to conduct a survey of existing indexes and a process of how these are developed could become part of the AQ Roadmap)

Develop mechanism for regional air quality management (air basins) (we are planning to do this for the Yangtze River Delta but this could be expanded to other regions / urban clusters)

Promote co-benefits approach for policies and programs (this is integrated in other parts of our program)

Prepare an overview of regional forums, networks and organizations at the national levels to facilitate cooperation on the regional level

Furthermore, we aim to conduct a survey of emissions standards for stationary sources in Asian countries, following our experience in Sri Lanka, based on which it can be decided if regional coordination and support is needed.

b. Roadmap for Clean and Efficient Fuels and Vehicles

During 2011-2012 we will continue to monitor, facilitate and support the implementation of roadmap for clean and efficient fuels and vehicles. Our main partner and donor for this work is UNEP PCFV directly and through the Global Fuel Economy Initiative. This includes

Continue our support to national governments especially in Pakistan, Philippines and Vietnam where we started work in 2009, and will advise them on the implementation of next level Euro standards.

Further develop collaboration between ASEAN countries to establish a common framework for vehicle fuel economy standards, and support individual ASEAN countries in developing their standards and policies

In addition, together with CAI-Asia Center members ACFA, Corning and Shell, and with UNEP PCFV, JAMA and possibly others, we are looking to set up informal partnership arrangement between different organizations


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working on clean fuels and in Asia. The aim is to streamline our work, collaborate on current and future projects, and facilitate the engagement of and exchange and collaboration between different stakeholder groups (government, private sector, NGOs, development agencies, etc.) that are needed to make fuels and vehicles cleaner and more efficient. This regional collaboration would supplement the work carried out at the national levels.

4.2 Outcome 2. Enhanced national and local frameworks for sound policies, programs and urban development

Such frameworks at the national and local levels consist of monitoring, institutional and legal/policy framework, knowledge and capacity of policy makers and stakeholders, partnerships and networks, financing, and technologies. The activities described under outcome 3 are relevant for the following two priority areas.

a. Plans and Policies that Integrate Management of Air Quality and Climate Change

Throughout Asia we will continue to facilitate development and implementation of plans and policies that integrate management of air quality and climate change. In China, we will continue to work with the 13 cities in our network as well as other cities on

Assessing and improving existing Clean Air Action Plans and AQ/GHG management making use of the Clean Air Scorecard, and in developing City Clean Air Reports for selected cities.

Promoting the development of city-based websites/pages on AQ and GHG, building on the success of the Clean Air at Mega-Events website.

Providing regular policy briefings/advice to city EPBs and the Ministry of Environmental Protection on AQ and GHG related matters as requested by MEP

Supporting the collaboration between cities and provinces within the three regions and six urban clusters for which the China State Council issued guidelines that promote regional AQM collaboration. At the minimum this will cover the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) building on our support to Shanghai on AQM at the Shanghai EXPO 2010 and our support to Hangzhou with the assessment using the Clean Air Scorecard.

Similar activities will be conducted for cities in India and other countries but this depends on progress in the establishment of an India city networks and collaboration with city associations in other countries. The work in other countries will build on past projects and contacts there as well as experience gained in China. For China, funding will be sought from Energy Foundation and Fu Tak Iam Foundation, which are existing donors for these activities, as well as new donors. It is envisaged that we will collaborate with IGES through the newly established Co-benefits Partnership. Foundations will be approached for larger and longer term funding for our core activities with cities.


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The Clean Air Scorecard will be applied to additional cities across Asia. Funding for some cities has already been secured and additional funding will be sought from ADB and other donors, in most cases by integrating the scorecard application into larger projects.

b. Plans and Policies for low emissions sustainable urban development, covering the transport sector and energy use

While we will be actively working with cities on AQ and climate change plans, we will expand our support to cities within the framework of the Low Emissions Urban Development (Figure 6). We aim to build on the Transport Emissions Evaluation Models for Projects or TEEMP, which embeds air pollutants as co-benefits) we developed with various partners, the visioning-backcasting for the transport sector conducted for Southeast Asia, and the low emissions urban development framework we developed. Our envisaged role for 2011-2012 is

Piloting the TEEMP methodologies further, but instead of large scale applications we aim to provide a help desk and training function for organizations and individuals applying the methodology, and mainstream the methodology within ADB and possible other organizations

Expanding these methodologies to cover missing transport parts (especially freight) and develop it for the city level, covering energy, buildings and transport

Working with cities on measuring CO2 and air pollutant emissions and subsequently identify ways of reducing future emissions through plans, policies and measures ranging from improved urban planning and public transport to energy efficiency technologies

Working with Southeast Asian countries to translate the policy options from the visioning-backcasting project to concrete policies in national plans

A related area is walkability. CAI-Asia has conducted walkability surveys for 21 cities to date and during 2011-2012 we will conduct surveys for additional cities, work with selected cities on action plans for improving walkability, and work on public awareness raising on the state of walkability in selected cities. This work is partly funded and partly at proposal stage, with existing and anticipated partners/donors being ADB, World Bank, ITDP, ITPS, Shakti Foundation, Swiss Embassy and possibly others. An important forum for this area of work is the Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forum of senior environmental and transport government officials held every year and organized by UNCRD with funding from the Japan Government. We will continue to provide input in the form of background papers and organizing sessions on selected topics (e.g. freight), and collecting data or conducting mini-surveys of 22 member countries in Asia that are relevant to the Bangkok Declaration 2020 (that includes EST goals and provides indicators for monitoring progress at the national level). We will also explore with UNCRD the possibilities of holding a similar EST Forum for mayors of the 44 signatory cities to the Kyoto Declaration on EST.


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c. Green Freight Program in Asian countries

Building on our experience on green freight in China, during the coming years we expect to

Continue the design and subsequent establishment of a Green Freight China Program, and support Guangdong Province in the implementation of the GEF project for green freight. World Bank and Energy Foundation are existing donors but other donors, such as UNEP PCFV could also be approached.

Design and establish a programmatic framework for green freight in India. Funding will be sought from the German Government and main project partners would be GIZ and Society for India Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Establish a Green Freight Network with the aim to exchange experiences between Asia, US, Europe and elsewhere, and maximize consistency between programs worldwide

Green freight work in other countries will be conducted as opportunities arise and make take place at a smaller scale at project rather than program levels.

Key overarching activities will include the establishment of a Green Freight website, a Green Freight Network, and organizing/facilitating green freight workshops separately and as part of BAQ 2012, Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forums of UNCRD and other events.

4.3 Outcome 3. Increased awareness and access to information tools and partners

a. Awareness: Save the Air Campaign

Campaigns are an effective way to raise awareness of the wider public and mobilize policy change and action. A campaign needs a theme that is clear, scalable, and adaptable to individual cities and countries and changing conditions. The ultimate aim is to strengthen policies through a campaign that aims to

Communicate the local and global impacts of air pollution to the public Focus on solutions combining technology, policy and behavior options Expand the community beyond experts and specialists, and particularly seek the engagement of

young people


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The campaign theme is Save the Air, and started in 2009 in the Philippines as Ligtas Hangin (i.e. save the air in Tagalog). This campaign is a test case for a broader campaign in other Asian countries the following year. The CAI-Asia campaign will aim to link to other relevant campaigns to avoid overlap and maximize reach. In 2011-2012, we will

Continue the Save the Air campaign in Philippines with a specific focus on smoke belching vehicles Start a regional public awareness campaign to get increased public attention for air quality issues,

and this can be linked with the CAI-Asia Ten celebrations in 2011 Establish similar campaigns in other countries with a Country Network where there is the

momentum and where the Country Network is ready to take on a campaign, such as Clean Air Network Nepal.

For the Philippines, funding will partly be provided by the Government. We will also seek separate funds from Philippine-based donors, such as embassies and foundations, for our combined activities in the Philippines.

b. Knowledge Management

Our activities in 2011-2012 will focus on collecting, analyzing and disseminating information through Clean Air Portal, CitiesACT database, Communities, events and publications. Main activities during 2011-2012 will include:

Consolidate existing information and improve access to knowledge on the Clean Air Portal through profiles, trends analyses, policy briefs, fact sheets and the CitiesACT database. We will tap into the existing knowledge bases of the CAI-Asia members and other organizations and bring data, experiences and insights on air quality, climate change and energy, and transport to a wider audience. To ensure that the Portal effectively aligns knowledge management activities from different CAI-Asia members and other relevant institutions, we consult with our Knowledge Management Advisory Group.

The CitiesACT is to be positioned as the most comprehensive database for partners and stakeholders for quantitative data in Asia on air quality, climate change, energy and sustainable transport. With support from ADB, World Bank and several other donors, we will continue to establish and maintain processes for collecting and updating data and benchmarking indicators for air pollutants and GHG emissions relevant to the transport and energy sectors.

Further develop Communities of Practice, initially focused on e-groups and websites that facilitate communication between professionals, the ultimate purpose is to use software to create online social networks of professionals and businesses, a platform that is a balance between a Wiki and a more actively managed peer reviewed site. This in turn will improve access of cities to the information, expertise and services they need thus developing their capacity to address urban air quality and related issues.

Disseminate information at meetings and conferences. Expand the use of webinars for future projects and events.


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Box 1: Clean Air Portal and CitiesACT Database

CAI-Asia developed a new Clean Air Portal to serve as the first point of entry for policymakers, practitioners and the public. The Portal incorporates data and information on air quality, sustainable transport, energy, and climate change. It replaces our old CAI-Asia website and contains information on CAI-Asia and its activities. Furthermore, users will be able to access information by.

Cities or countries initially covering Asian countries where CAI-Asia Country Networks exist and covering the largest cities, but over time expanding to the approximately 2,500 Asian cities with more than 100,000 people.

Topics within air quality, climate change and energy and transport, such as particulate matter, bus rapid transit systems, 2- and 3-wheelers, health impacts, and ports.

Type of information initially projects/programs, training courses, and organizations, and these will be expanded with policies, technologies and other categories.

Data - a separate database was built and will be further expanded, called the CitiesACT database, which will including key statistics/data, provides quantitative data on Air quality, Climate change and energy, and Transport

c. Tools and Methodologies

During 2011-2012 we will further develop and apply tools and methodologies for management of air pollution and GHG emissions from transport, energy, and industry sectors. This can be linked to working with city networks/clusters, i.e. applying several tools within a broader approach to help cities develop and implement policies and programs for air quality and climate change and broader urban development (see outcome 2). The main tools and methodologies to be further developed and/or applied include:

Visioning-Backcasting methodology for CO2 and air pollutant emissions at the transport/energy sector level and/or city level

Clean Air Scorecard assessment tool to analyze air pollution levels, the citys capacity to determine sources, levels and impacts, and address air pollution and CO2 emissions, and the presence and enforcement of policies and actions to reduce emissions.

Transport Emissions Evaluation Models for Projects (TEEMP). We will work to expand this methodology for freight and for an urban transport system; give training on the application of the methodology; set up a discussion group on the Clean Air Portal through which we can provide advice; answer questions and share experiences.

Clean Fleet Management Toolkit, which we aim to roll out to out eight Country Networks by linking up with private sector companies, consultancies and universities who can deliver training and facilitate its application on a larger scale

Walkability Survey Integrated GHG and AP Accounting Tool for Companies


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d. Better Air Quality conferences

CAI-Asias flagship event is the Better Air Quality (BAQ) conference, which is the largest gathering on air quality in Asia, covering transport, energy, industry and climate change, with a particular emphasis on government policies and measures. Policy makers and practitioners meet at BAQ to network, learn and share experiences. Past BAQs have proven to influence policies, initiate new projects and establish partnerships. BAQs are an essential part in CAI-Asias efforts to scale up successes to 2,500 Asian cities. Better Air Quality (BAQ) was first organized as a workshop with 40 participants by the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2001. Since 2002, BAQ is organized by CAI-Asia with active support from ADB and a large number of other groups. It is now held every two years and has grown to a conference of over 500 participants. The 3-day BAQ conferences consist of plenary and breakout sessions, country roundtables, poster presentations, exhibition booths, and networking and social events. CAI-Asia partners host pre-events during the two days preceding the conference. A BAQ conference will again be held in 2012, and will likely be around the theme livable cities. The CAI-Asia Center will work together with the CAI-Asia partners to organize the conference, develop the conference program and organize pre-events, with input from participant evaluations from prior BAQ conferences. Based on BAQ 2010 evaluation survey, preferred locations are China and Vietnam. We aim to confirm a location by mid 2011.

e. Collaboration with Governments and Intergovernmental Bodies

Collaborations and strategies at the regional level are increasing but need further expansion. Regional approaches may include areas within one country, such as the Yangtze River Delta in China or the Mumbai-Pune area in India. Existing Asian multi-country efforts include the Male Declaration, East Asia Network for Acid Deposition (EANET), and Atmospheric Brown Cloud (ABC).5 The Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (HTAP) concerns hemispheric air pollution.6 The ASEAN as a region is becoming stronger in collaborating on issues relevant to the transport and industry sector, such as the ASEAN Senior Transport Officials Meeting. The Ministerial Forum on Environment and Health is run by UNEP and WHO. UNCRD organizes annual Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Forums with senior environment and transport officials from Asian countries. Government will also be reached through meetings under these efforts CAI-Asias main interaction with Asian governments at a regional level is the Governmental Meetings on Urban Air Quality in Asia, co-organized with UNEP. The first Governmental Meeting on Urban Air Quality in Asia was held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 2006, which resulted in the Yogyakarta Summary. As a follow up, we developed the Long Term Vision on Urban Air Quality, (LTV) which describes the desired state of urban air quality in 2030. At the Second Governmental Meeting, in parallel with BAQ 2008 in Bangkok, representatives from 15 environmental ministries agreed that this LTV can inspire Asian cities to develop and implement their own vision. A Third Governmental Meeting in 2010 will focus on updating government officials from environment ministries on developments in urban AQM at the international level and individual 5 For more details on these initiatives Male Declaration - http://www.rrcap.unep.org/issues/air/maledec/, EANET -

http://www.eanet.cc and ABC - http://www.rrcap.unep.org/issues/air/impactstudy/index.cfm 6 HTAP website http://www.htap.org


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Asian countries that are relevant for the implementation of the LTV, and identify recommendations for Governments for the further progression of the LTV. A Roadmap for Air Quality Standards in Asia will be developed as a draft in time for the Fourth Governmental Meeting that is planned as a pre-event to BAQ 2012. The Third Governmental Meeting also recommended the preparation of an overview of regional forums and networks, including activities, Secretariats and responsible organizations at the national levels to facilitate cooperation. The Governmental Meetings are also linked to other intergovernmental interactions that CAI-Asia is likely to engage in relating to fuel economy policies and standards in the ASEAN region and the implementation of the Roadmap for Clean Fuel and Vehicles. Sida was the main donor for past activities linked to the Governmental Meetings. Funding for 2011-2012 has yet to be secured.

f. Working with Cities and City Network

Cities are the prime focus of CAI-Asia, and efforts to work directly with cities will be strengthened during 2011-2012. Cities learn best by interacting with their peers nationally and internationally, and city networks can thus facilitate learning between cities to accelerate the adoption of measures. For this reason a top priority for 2011-2012 is to strengthen our city networks, building on the success of the CAI-Asia China City Network (see box). The objectives would be to exchange best practices, promote dialogues between cities and national environment and other ministries, and provide the basis for scaling up to the 2,500 cities in Asia. Four city networks / clusters are proposed, and we would seek cooperation with national environment ministries:

China City Network with its existing 13 members. This will be expanded with working with city clusters within regions in China, especially the Yangtze River Delta.

India City Network, with 6-10 to be selected members that are also members of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and South Asia City Network with at least one city from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Southeast Asia City Network, consisting of cities that are member of the CAI-Asia Partnership and other cities that CAI-Asia works with through existing projects, especially under the ASEAN GIZ Clean Air for Smaller Cities project. These include Philippines (e.g. Makati, Mandaluyong, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Naga), Indonesia (e.g. Palembang), Thailand (e.g. Chiang Mai, Korat), Malaysia, Laos (Vientiane), Cambodia (Phnom Penh) and Vietnam (e.g. Hanoi, Hai Phong, HCMC).

Activities with these cities would include

At least one workshop per year on a topic of importance to these cities relevant to improving air quality and making cities more livable

Active participation in the BAQ 2012 conference


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Application of tools described earlier, preferably in the context of the Low Emissions Urban Development Framework (see outcome 2).

Establish the basis for possible exchanges between cities (can be within or between networks). Box 2. CAI-Asia China City Network CAI-Asia works extensively with Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) and Chinese cities, especially its 13 member cities: Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Harbin, Jinan, Lanzhou, Luoyang, Qingdao, Tianjin, Urumqi, and Suzhou. Workshops are hosted by one of the member cities at least once a year, on a priority topic relevant to air quality management. These workshops are co-organized (and co-funded) with MEP and bring together representatives from the Environmental Protection Bureau and a second relevant agency. In 2009, the workshop in Qingdao focused on vehicle emissions management and was attended by EPBs and vehicle emission control centers. In 2010, with support from the Energy Foundation, CAI-Asia organized two workshops on co-benefits with its member cities and applied the Clean Air Scorecard to 2 pilot cities, for cities of the CAI-Asia China network to understand how to integrate plans and identify policies and measures for air quality management and GHG emission reduction using the co-benefits approach. We would also engage with local government associations, leagues of cities, or leagues of mayors to reach a larger number of cities. At the regional level, dialogues could be organized together with, amongst others, the Network of City Networks (http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/whatwedo/projects/NCN), the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), or ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability. Specific activities with the Network of City Networks in 2011-2012 will be setting up pages for each network on the Clean Air Portal, holding meetings (usually combined with existing conferences attended by most networks), and creating an online forum. City Dialogues may be supplemented with analyses of cities policies and programs on air quality and related issues and results would be included in the Clean Air Portal.

g. Engaging the Academic and Research Institutions

In 2011, we aim to establish Asian network of academic and research institutions working on air quality management and climate change. The objectives are to

Help reduce the gap between scientific research and policy development as policies must be science-based (main objective). This includes making scientific research used for policy development in, for example, China, more accessible to governments in other Asian countries

Increase the interaction between institutes across Asia and thus reduce overlaps, help identify gaps and create opportunities for joint research project. This could include exchanging staff and students between universities and research institutes or hosting interns

Obtain access to better quality data for air pollution, GHG emissions for the transport, energy and other sectors

Support the establishment of national training systems for air quality and climate change, with the additional aim to improve the quality, consistency, continuation and reach of training, because

o The capacity of cities and countries to improve air quality varies enormously and Asian cities and countries need guidance on how to improve this.


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o Training related to air quality, transport, and climate change must be embedded in Asian institutions to maximize the number of individuals and organizations reached, thus increasing the total capacity in Asian cities to improve AQM.

o Training systems do not need to be built from scratch but can build on existing institutional structures, training courses, training materials, and make use of various training techniques such as online seminars and electronic training media (vlogs, podcasts), in addition to face-to-face trainings

We would start with the leading universities on air quality in the eight Country Network countries and map their research on the areas where governments require most input. Based on our interaction with governments at the national and local levels over the past years, their needs relate to very basic air quality management, such as modeling, emissions inventories, and source apportionment, as a supplement to the health-impact studies that were mapped by the Health Effects Institute. As part of its projects and activities, CAI-Asia would help communicate scientific research results to relevant policy makers through policy briefs, presentations at workshops, and meetings/workshops with city networks and governments. It is important to start small and prove that this concept works before scaling up. Depending on the success, eventually this could grow to include a larger number of universities as well as the vast range of research institutes that exist across Asia, and expand with a broader range of topics including climate change impacts and mitigation (less likely adaptation), sustainable transport, energy, and urban development. Funding for these activities has yet to be secured. The Fredskorpset Exchange Program could serve as a starting point.

h. Engaging the Private sector

The involvement of the private sector in addressing air pollution and climate change mitigation in Asian cities is essential. In 2011-2012, private sector involvement will mainly be sought in:

Involvement in dialogues that affect the private sector, such as the Roadmap for Cleaner Fuels and Vehicles, and fuel economy activities

Green Freight China Program and possible other green freight programs to be established in India and other Asian countries. This includes technology and service suppliers, truck carriers, and shippers

Establishing a training system for the Clean Fleet Management Toolkit whereby representatives from companies that have been trained and have applied the toolkit can deliver training to other companies. This will apply to the Philippines, Indonesia, China (as part of the Green Freight China program) and other countries can be considered

Formal partnerships, sponsorships and funding for specific CAI-Asia activities, such as the Save the Air Campaign and BAQ 2012


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i. Engaging Development agencies, donors and foundations

While Asian governments increasingly have their own funds to pay for the development and implementation of policies, programs and measures to improve air quality and make cities more livable, the role of development agencies, donors and foundations is still critical in pioneering new concepts and funding pilots to create a shift towards policies and projects that emphasize the sustainability and low emissions development aspects more strongly.

Some challenges are that development agencies, donors and foundations often have overlapping programs and funding priorities, and that they find it difficult to find the right funding opportunity at the right time.

Together with UNEP, the CAI-Asia Center will host at least one Regional Dialogue of Development Agencies in 2011-2012. While past dialogues were mostly focused on improving coordination and cooperation among air quality programs and projects, the next dialogue will place more emphasis on bridging the gap between donor funds and financing needs.

In China we observe the need for donors meetings at the national level. CAI-Asia could either initiate such meetings, or collaborate with partners, such as Energy Foundation.

j. Collaboration with Regional Partnerships

Collaboration could be with, but not be limited to, the following regional partnerships, forums, networks and associations:

Air & Waste Management Association (AWMA) Co-benefits Partnership (Secretariat: IGES) Energy for All Partnership Global Atmospheric Pollution Forum UNEP, CAI-Asia, IUAPPA, SEI) Global Fuel Economy Initiative (IEA, ITF, FIA, PCFV) International Association for Public Transport (UITP) Methane to Markets Partnership Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV) Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (PCIA) Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport World LP Gas Association

Furthermore, CAI-Asia will collaborate with USEPA, UNEP, World Bank and others to assess the possibilities for reviving the CAI-SSA as an expanded initiative to cover Africa and the Middle East. Collaboration with CAI-LAC and other organizations active in Latin America will aim at exchange, especially on activities that could easily be replicated in other developing countries and where consistency across the globe would be beneficial. Examples are the Governmental Meeting (which could also be used as a mechanism in Africa and Latin America it is noted that the EST Forum that already exists in Asia is being established for Latin America also), CitiesACT database (which could eventually be expanded to cities in other developing countries), green freight programs (for which we aim to have consistency at least on emissions measurement and on technologies certification/verification, and to have a global Green Freight Network).


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k. Clean Air & Blue Skies for Asia Exchange Program

Exchange programs are an effective way for Asian organizations to learn from one another. Collaborations continue beyond the exchange programs. The Clean Air and Blue Skies for Asia exchange program organized by the CAI-Asia Center and CAI-Asia Country Networks with support from Fredskorpset, Norway, posts young professionals for ten months in another Asian country to gain practical skills in air quality management and sustainable transport which they can apply upon their return to their home countries. The exchange program is expected to continue for another 3-5 years, and additional countries and volunteers may be added in the coming years. The success of this exchange program has lead to the idea of setting up a longer term exchange program with an expanded scope. This involves:

Multiple donors (corporations, foundations, others) contributing to an Exchange Program Fund, from which exchanges are paid for

Expanding the participation in the exchange program, which currently only includes young professionals. Other type of participants could include city government officials, academics, and employees from NGO.

Expanding the host organizations to also include private sector companies and development agencies.

Integration in CAI-Asia project, activities and networks/partnerships. This was already initiated under the current Fredkorpset funded program, as exchange participants conducted walkability surveys and Clean Air Scorecard assessments in their host cities. Similarly, for China, a study tour to the US on green freight practices was held in 2010.

As a first step, in 2011 a concept for a broadened Exchange Program will be developed.

cai-asia center business plan 2011-2012 - final

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