Clean air advocate seeks policy-oriented action to cut carbon emission
Author: Bernadette E. Tamayo
A climate advocate pushed for a policy-oriented method to help improve the air quality in the Asia Pacific as the Philippines' air quality does not meet the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO). Clear Air Asia (CAA), a non-government organization, said in a statement on Monday that concerned sectors should "collaborate to enforce air quality standards and consolidate clean air and climate action plans." "In this day and age, it's important that we recognize policy and technology solutions are key to ensuring significant and efficient emission reduction in our cities and in national governments," said Dang Espita-Casanova, Clean Air Asia program manager. "This process we believe should be participatory, inclusive, and highlights the co-benefits of actions so that we are able to engage and enlist support from all actors in the space," she added. Several environmental groups sought the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) to help cut down carbon emissions in the country that is being promoted under Republic Act 1169 which provides for the development of the electric vehicle industry in the Philippines. CAA said that Indonesia, Brunei, Burma, Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand are also ramping up their shift to EVs by introducing policies to promote it.