US Embassy workshop in 4 cities on combating air pollution

The US policymakers, world renowned scientists and industry experts are participating in a series of workshops, which began here today, on combating air pollution.
Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain and the US Embassy Charge d'Affaires Michael P Pelletier inaugurated the series, being organised by Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.
Besides Delhi, the workshops are being held in Chandigarh, Jaipur, and Lucknow, where a special closing ceremony will be held on May 26.
"The objective of these workshops is to provide a forum to initiate and strengthen collaboration between US and Indian air quality experts, consider best practices to combat air pollution in North India and build consensus and strategy for follow-on action," an official statement said.

"Workshops will include presentations on the health effects of air pollution, impact on industry and their mitigation efforts, and air quality management and policy," it added.
While inaugurating the workshop, Pelletier said, "In our own experience in the United States, cities that formerly had a reputation of being polluted, dirty, and unattractive, have transformed themselves into clean urban centers with growing economies and healthy populations".
"Just think of smog-laden Los Angeles in the 1960s and 70s and compare it to the much clearer skies you can experience there today to know what a difference concerted, well-planned, and well-executed long-term action can make.

"Our experience has shown that that improving air quality and economic growth go hand-in-hand. And this is an area where the US and India can do so much together," he added.