The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has launched a new online Megacities Platform as part of its celebrations of the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies. The new platform provides national and local policy makers with a framework by which to develop and implement comprehensive action plans to address air quality and improve public health in cities.
On the new platform cities can freely access a series of templates, one for each step in the air quality management process. These templates are meant to provide guidance to those wanting to undertake some or all these steps. Currently, the templates are available in English, Spanish, and Russian. Two instructional videos explaining the Megacities Partnership are also available.
The U.S. EPA’s Megacities Partnership program was developed through an interagency agreement with the U.S. Department of State. Since 2015 the program partnered with organizations in Accra, Ghana; Adia Ababa, Ethiopia; Santiago, Chile; and Lima, Peru to achieve relevant, locally motivated, and evidence-based air quality management goals. The templates were developed based on this experience.
Moving forward, the U.S. EPA will continue to expand the content and support materials available on the platform. Future efforts will include the development of a climate-air quality focused template. The U.S. EPA also plans to create online training to clearly guide those interested through each step and template in the process.
The templates can and should be modified to reflect the specific circumstances on the ground in each location to which they are applied. In addition to each template, some examples are also provided where these templates have been applied to specific cities. These examples show how the templates can be modified to fit the local conditions.
The Megacities Partnership does not provide financing for equipment or capital, but rather focuses on capacity building and coordination between local agencies to enhance air quality management.
Find out more here.