With support from Energy Foundation China (EF China), more than 40 experts gathered in late April to launch the China Clean Air Policy Partnership (CCAPP) and hold its first steering committee meeting. The committee consists of 18 top air scholars and environmental professionals in China, including members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Hao Jiming and He Kebin from Tsinghua University, Tao Shu from Peking University, and Wang Jinnan from the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning. They announced the establishment of the partnership and elected Professor Hao as the first chairman of the steering committee. Liu Bingjiang, director-general of the Department of Atmospheric Environment of China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), and Zou Ji, President of EF China, congratulated the experts on the new partnership in their opening remarks.

As a non-governmental and non-profit platform for communications and cooperation, CCAPP is initiated by more than a dozen leading research institutions in China, including Tsinghua University, Peking University, the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning under MEE, the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, and the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is dedicated to protecting public health and promoting habitability of cities by improving air quality. It plans to support scientific research and cross-cutting communications to explore co-management solutions for air pollutant and GHG emissions.

At the meeting, experts had in-depth discussions on CCAPP’s goals, work plans, roadmap for China’s air quality improvement in the medium- and long-term, as well as a people-oriented strategy to achieve world-class air quality. The committee believes that CCAPP should serve as an academic exchange platform for scholars in the fields of environmental science, engineering, planning, and economics; a policy-discussing platform for agencies managing the environment, economic growth, energy, transportation, housing and urban-rural development, industry, and health; and also a communication and experience sharing platform among national and local governments, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the public.

CCAPP welcomes all research institutions and civil society organizations to work together for public health, happy life, and world-class air quality.