Africa Clean Air Forum Daily Update

The Africa Clean Air Forum 2026 officially opened in Pretoria with a strong message that tackling air pollution requires moving beyond commitments towards implementation, while placing science, people and regional collaboration at the centre of Africa's clean air agenda.

Hosted by AfriCAN together with partners including the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), the opening plenary brought together government leaders, academia, civil society and international organizations to frame clean air as a public health, development and environmental justice priority for the continent.

Opening the Forum, Prof. Gyebi Duodu of the University of Pretoria highlighted the need to bridge the gap between researchers generating air quality evidence and policymakers responsible for translating that evidence into investments and public policy. He emphasized that science must directly inform decision-making and reaffirmed the University's commitment to impact-driven research that delivers tangible societal benefits.

Speaking on behalf of Black Girls Rising, Xoli Fuyani reminded participants that air pollution is first and foremost about people's lived experiences. She challenged the normalization of household air pollution across Africa and called for greater recognition of clean air as a human right, stressing that solutions should be designed with communities, women and young people at their centre.

Delivering the keynote government address, South Africa's Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Bernice Swarts, described air pollution as no longer solely an environmental issue, but also a public health challenge, an economic concern and a matter of environmental justice. She highlighted South Africa's efforts to strengthen air quality governance through improved emissions inventories, industrial emissions management, public participation and air quality information systems, while noting that the country's G20 Presidency has helped elevate clean air as a regional and global development priority through the Cape Town Declaration on Air Quality.

Across the opening session, speakers consistently highlighted that stronger regional cooperation will be essential to address transboundary air pollution, harmonize policies and standards, strengthen monitoring networks and mobilize the investments needed to improve air quality across Africa. Participants also emphasized that building public trust, expanding access to transparent air quality data and investing in institutional capacity will be critical to delivering meaningful progress.

The opening plenary established the central theme that would carry throughout the Forum: Africa already possesses growing scientific expertise, political momentum and successful local initiatives. The next challenge is scaling these efforts through stronger partnerships, sustained investment and implementation that delivers cleaner air and healthier communities across the continent.

Read more about the event here.

Regional Cooperation Takes Centre Stage in Advancing Africa's Clean Air Agenda

A high-level plenary brought together representatives from the African Union Commission (AUC), the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), C40 Cities, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the Forum for International Cooperation on Air Pollution (FICAP) to discuss how regional partnerships—including the Africa Clean Air Programme (ACAP)—can accelerate clean air action across the continent.

Panelists agreed that Africa is entering a new phase of regional cooperation, building on recent international momentum, including the G20 Cape Town Declaration on Air Quality and the implementation of the UNEA resolution on promoting regional cooperation to improve air quality globally. These commitments were highlighted as important platforms for strengthening accountability, mobilising finance and translating political ambition into practical action.

Representing the African Union Commission, Dr. Harsen Nyambe emphasized the AUC's role in promoting harmonized air quality policies and standards across Africa through collaboration with Regional Economic Communities (RECs). He highlighted the Africa Clean Air Programme (ACAP) as the continent's flagship regional platform for implementation, bringing together the AUC, RECs, governments and technical partners to strengthen monitoring, policy harmonization, capacity building and knowledge exchange. Speakers agreed that expanding monitoring networks and improving data sharing remain among the continent's most pressing priorities, while broader AU initiatives such as the Circular Economy Action Plan and resilience programmes can reinforce clean air outcomes.

A recurring theme throughout the discussion was that regional cooperation delivers practical benefits beyond political dialogue. By harmonizing standards, sharing monitoring data, jointly developing emissions inventories and exchanging technical expertise, countries can reduce costs, avoid duplication and build stronger evidence to inform policy. Investment in air quality monitoring was repeatedly identified as a priority, with speakers noting that expanding monitoring networks is essential both for effective policymaking and for attracting international investment by providing the evidence base needed to justify action.

CCAC highlighted its role as a global partnership supporting governments through initiatives such as the Africa Clean Air Programme (ACAP), the Africa Integrated Assessment, the Air Quality Management Exchange (AQMx), and the Super Pollutant Country Action Accelerator, which helps countries strengthen national institutions through dedicated Super Pollutant (SP) Units. Speakers emphasized that successful implementation depends not only on technology, but also on investing in people and building coalitions that connect scientists, policymakers, and practitioners across the continent. C40 Cities demonstrated how peer-to-peer collaboration is enabling African cities to learn from one another on clean transport, emissions monitoring and data-driven policymaking. Speakers noted that African cities are increasingly generating their own evidence and developing innovative solutions that can be replicated across the continent through city-to-city cooperation.

Concluding the discussion, panelists agreed that Africa's clean air ambitions will depend on stronger regional institutions, sustained investment in monitoring and scientific capacity, and continued collaboration through platforms such as ACAP to translate regional commitments into cleaner air and healthier communities.

From Monitoring to Action: New Technologies Strengthen Africa's Air Quality Management

Technical sessions throughout the first day highlighted how advances in air quality monitoring, modelling and machine learning are creating new opportunities for evidence-based policymaking across Africa, while making monitoring more accessible to governments and communities.

Several presentations demonstrated how low-cost sensor technologies are rapidly expanding air quality monitoring networks across the continent. Speakers emphasized that while these technologies cannot replace reference-grade monitoring stations, they can significantly increase spatial coverage when properly calibrated and validated. Research presented by the University of Pretoria showed how machine learning techniques can improve the accuracy of low-cost sensors under African environmental conditions, helping address long-standing challenges related to maintenance costs, data gaps and limited monitoring infrastructure.

Presentations also underscored the growing importance of air quality modelling as a policy tool. Case studies from Southern Africa illustrated how modelling platforms are being used to identify pollution hotspots, understand source contributions and evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation measures before policies are implemented. Examples from Johannesburg demonstrated how modelling informed the development of Clean Air Zones by identifying major contributors to PM₂.₅ pollution, including residential fuel combustion and waste burning, allowing interventions to be better targeted.

Across the discussions, speakers agreed that data alone is not enough. Monitoring, modelling and scientific evidence must ultimately support practical policy decisions, strengthen public accountability and help governments prioritize investments that deliver measurable improvements in air quality.

African Cities and Regions Showcase Practical Solutions for Cleaner Air

Sessions featuring governments, cities and regional organizations demonstrated that many African institutions are already implementing practical solutions to improve air quality, while highlighting the importance of regional cooperation, community engagement and sustained investment.

Regional perspectives from the Sahel Climate Commission emphasized that challenges such as desert dust, household energy and landscape degradation require coordinated responses across borders. The Commission outlined ongoing efforts to strengthen regional monitoring networks, expand access to clean cooking technologies and integrate air quality into broader climate resilience and land restoration programmes.

National and city case studies from Togo, Gauteng Province, Nairobi and Kampala showcased how monitoring networks are increasingly informing policy development, regulatory enforcement and public engagement. Several cities highlighted rapid expansion of monitoring infrastructure through a combination of reference-grade instruments and low-cost sensors, alongside investments in emissions inventories, source apportionment, transport interventions and public awareness campaigns.

A recurring message throughout the session was that successful air quality management depends on more than monitoring technology alone. Strong governance, political commitment, institutional capacity, community participation and partnerships between governments, academia and development partners were consistently identified as the foundations for translating scientific evidence into cleaner air and healthier communities.

Stay tuned for our Daily Update and watch here tomorrow at 9:30 EAT.