Istanbul to host int’l environmental congress next week

By Nilay Kar Onum

ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkish metropolis Istanbul is set to host an international environmental congress next week to discuss solutions for improving air quality across the globe.

The 18th World Clean Air Congress (WCAC), scheduled to be held between Sept. 23-27, will create a global platform for industrialists, scientists and policymakers to evaluate new strategies and technologies to reduce the sources of air pollution.

“More urgent efforts are now therefore needed to develop and implement the policies, investment programs, and technologies needed to reduce the sources of air pollution,” the WCAC said in its official website.

An estimated 4.2 million premature deaths across the globe are linked to the ambient air pollution, the World Health Organization (WHO) figures showed.

Experts from 40 countries are expected to take part in the five-day event, which was organized by the Turkish National Committee for Air Pollution Control (TUNCAP) and the UK-based International Union of Air Pollution Prevention Associations (IUAPPA).

The main principle of the congress is to increase the quality of the air that we breathe, Selahattin Incecik, the president of the IUAPPA told Anadolu Agency.

“We will discuss the energy scenarios in order to increase the quality of the air that we breathe as well as the recent scientific developments and practices on climate and clean air,” Incecik said.

“We will produce strategies in order to realize new technologies. When these strategies take effect, our people will be much more conscious,” he stated.