Celebrating Clean Air Month with the Partnership for Clean Air

Vicky Segovia, Executive Director of the the Partnership for Clean Air (PCA) -- CAI-Asia’s country network in the Philippines -- had her hands full last November as the country celebrated national Clean Air Month. The list of activities consisted of workshops, seminars, forums, program and product launches, and recognition ceremonies promoting reductions in air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Most of these events were organized with together with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Transport and Communication (DOTC), and key international partners including Asian Development Bank, Asian Clean Fuels Association (ACFA), German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), and the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV).


Marking the start of the Clean Air Month, DENR Secretary Jose Atienza, Jr. urged local governments to take action to improve air quality. “The Clean Air Act and national government efforts are not enough to solve this problem,” he said at a workshop for cities. “The real implementation happens in our cities, our communities.”


“More work, however, needs to be done especially now that air pollution and climate change are strongly linked,” he said. “Bringing air pollution down to safe levels can cut on greenhouse gas emissions thus halting the effects of climate change.”


“Air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions often come from the same sources, and black carbon and ozone also contribute to climate change.” explains Sophie Punte, CAI-Asia Center’s Executive Director. “This means that taking smoke belching vehicles off the road is good for blue skies and a better climate.”


The private sector are also doing their part. Pacific Paint (Boysen) Philippines launched KNOxOUT, a new paint product that uses nanotechnology to remove nitrogen oxides from the air. A pilot trial was conducted in a busy metro station with impressive results. “It’s like planting a tree to neutralize our carbon footprint,” says Boysen’s Johnson Ongking. “Now we can paint walls to neutralize our NOx footprint. Every wall is a potential air purifier.” (see www.oneworldonewall.com for more information)


The CAI-Asia Center and PCA used the Clean Air Month to revive the attention for reducing air pollution in Philippine cities. Half-a-million people a year die prematurely in Asia because of air pollution, while climate change threatens the well being of people. Health costs associated with air pollution are estimated at half a billion dollars each year in Metro Manila and other major Philippine cities.


"We’ve achieved a lot since the Clean Air Act was introduced ten years ago such as the removal of lead and reduction of sulfur levels in fuel,” says PCA’s Chair Rene Pineda. “However, a lot remains to be done. For example, polluting 2-stroke tricycles still dominate and we need funds to replace them with cleaner 4-stroke tricycles.”


Organizers identified the outstanding achievements from various sectors at the national and local level since the enactment of the landmark Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999:

• Bio-Fuels Act (see special report on page 6)
• Renewable Energy Act
• Cleaner fuels through lowering of sulfur in diesel and benzene and aromatics in gasoline
• Marikina bikeways
• Unleaded fuel
• Electric tricycles in Fort Bonifacio and electric jeepneys in Makati City
• Smoke-free ordinances
• Anti-smoke belching efforts
• Wind power in Ilocos
• Biomass use by industries
• LPG taxis
• Replacement of 2-stroke tricycles with 4-stroke models in San Fernando, La Union, and Mandaluyong