Regional Action Plan on Air Quality for Latin America and the Caribbean 2026-2029

This document presents the proposed Regional Action Plan on Air Quality for the period 2026–2029. This new Plan aims to consolidate and expand on the achievements of the previous period, address emerging priorities, and, most importantly, strengthen the mobilization of resources and establish structured and sustainable financing for regional
and national action. It recognizes that without adequate investment and accessible financial mechanisms, commitments cannot be translated into tangible health improvements or real progress toward climate resilience.

This 2026–2029 Plan seeks to consolidate a regional cooperation framework that enables the effective implementation of public policies, ambitious standards, and sustained and integrated sectoral actions to control air pollution in LAC. The Action Plan was developed during first half of 2025, in consultation with the Focal Points of the Intergovernmental Network, who submitted contributions to the different drafts and shared emergent priorities for the LAC region. The Final Draft was submitted and adopted at the Forum of Ministers of Environment at its 24th Meeting (1-2 October 2025 in Lima, Peru). 

General Objective

To establish a dynamic regional cooperation framework that accelerates comprehensive air quality management at national and subnational levels in Latin America and the Caribbean by promoting strategic actions to reduce air pollution, protect health and the environment, contribute to climate change mitigation, and advance the achievement of related goals within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Specific Objectives

With the purpose of aligning and energizing regional efforts for the establishment and implementation of this Action Plan, which requires the participation of governments, productive sectors, academy, civil society organizations, and the population, and supporting national and local actions to reduce air pollution in the region, the following specific
objectives are proposed:

• Align regional air quality management for health protection with the commitments assumed by the countries of the region to address the triple planetary crisis, thereby supporting the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Join efforts to overcome common financial, technological, and institutional capacity barriers that hinder efforts to address air pollution, by creating opportunities for cooperation and international collaboration.
• Promote and support the design and implementation of national and subnational policies, plans, programs, and strategies for comprehensive air quality management with planning horizons to 2030 and 2050, with special emphasis on protecting populations most vulnerable to health impacts from air pollution, as well as mitigating impacts in the most affected urban and rural areas.
• Catalyze the mobilization of technical and financial assistance resources for the implementation of regional cooperation actions presented in this plan and the region’s priority areas of action.