Beijing, for example, is hosting the Olympics in 2008. The city is plagued with very poor air quality, which the Western media has often highlighted. What is not known is that the Chinese government has set itself a very ambitious target and is going about cleaning the ambient air of the capital in an aggressive way. Delhi already has the largest public transport fleet running on CNG. Hong Kong is the first Asian city that is on par with the European Union's stringent emission standards, including introduction of ultra-low sulphur diesel. There are several examples of leapfrogging.

There is a lot to learn from these experiences, but they have not been captured adequately. The role that regional dynamics plays in air quality management is hardly understood. The international conference is an effort by CSE to fill that void. CSE wants to crystallize the lessons learnt in these cities to catalyse a paradigm shift for policymaking in India. Particularly when the polluted cities in India are moving ahead to take bold initiatives to clean up their air. CSE is organising the convergence of stakeholders from these cities who will put their minds together in the conference to chalk out a future strategy.

What does this mean for the media? An opportunity to meet the world's top experts in the field. Policy-makers, NGOs and industry representatives will converge from Asia, the US and Europe. They will discuss challenges specific to the region and strategies to control vehicular pollution. Set an agenda for the future. The conference will be an opportunity the media to look ahead, to form a perspective, to leapfrog in the coverage of air quality management, instead of following events as they unroll. The conference would break new ground for a transformation in our approach to vehicular pollution.

You are invited to take part in this event and add to its richness. It is important that such an event find adequate attention from the media. For the sake of our common future.

What to look for:

• Press briefings on March 30 and 31 at 4:00 PM at Jacaranda, India Habitat Centre with key speakers of the day.
• CSE will organise meetings for media persons with key and eminent experts for interviews.

Key themes for deciding on experts to interview:

1. Vehicular technology and fuel quality: Why Asia needs to leapfrog
Countries have moved way ahead in vehicle technology and fuel quality. The US, for example, has already introduced fuel neutral standards - strict standards regardless of fuel used. Europe is moving towards Euro V and Euro VI norms. India, meanwhile, is moving at a snail's pace towards reforming the vehicle and fuel sectors. Asian countries are at crossroads. To leapfrog, they need to take hard decisions.

Cost of better vehicle technology and fuel quality is actually not a deterrent. Studies conducted in other countries demonstrate that going directly from sulphur levels of several thousand parts per million (ppm) to near-zero sulphur are more cost-effective than moving in a staggered fashion.

Key experts in this field:

MICHAEL WALSH: US vehicle technology expert. Would speak on 'Challenges to fuel quality and technology improvement in Asia: Examples of proactive approaches'

AXEL FRIEDRICH: Head of the Environment, Transport and Noise Division at Germany's Federal Environmental Agency. Will speak on 'Diesel toxicity and risk reduction strategy in Germany'. And on why Germany has a campaign on diesel, even after meeting Euro IV standards?

LIXIN FU: Director, Air Pollution Research Institute, Tsinghua University, China. He will speak on 'Proactive approaches in China: regulatory process to accelerate the technology roadmap'.

KONG HA: Senior Officer, Motor Vehicle Emissions, Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department. Will speak on 'Fuel strategy to improve vehicular emissions'. Hong Kong, remember, is Asia's first city to implement clean fuel strategy.

2. Gaseous fuel programme
The gaseous fuels programmes in Asia have their own unique features in terms of their genesis, objectives and implementation. Immediate and perceptible benefits in particulate emissions reduction are driving cities to implement gaseous fuels programmes. The CNG programme, though, needs to be closely monitored after implementation. CNG pricing would determine the future of CNG.

Key experts in this field:

NILS-OLOF NYLUND: Chief Research Scientist, VTT Processes Energy Production. Will speak on 'Emissions benefit of gaseous fuel strategy: why is this an opportunity in Asia'

LENNART ERLANDSSON: AVL Motor Test Centre AB, Sweden. Will speak on 'European regulatory approaches to gaseous fuel strategy: Transferring knowledge and experience to Asia'

RIDWAN TAMIN: Head, Mobile Sources Division, Ministry of Environment, Jakarta, Indonesia. Will speak on the CNG strategy in Jakarta

KONG HA: Senior Officer, Motor Vehicle Emissions, Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department. Will speak on Hong Kong's LPG programme

HASSAAN GHAZALI: Member, Pakistan Environmental Law Association (PELA). Will speak on CNG strategy in Lahore and the role of Lahore Clean Air Commission.

3. Ways to develop an effective vehicle inspection programme for in-use vehicles in our cities
Vehicle inspection programme for in-use vehicles is the key to the management of air quality. Strong regulatory systems are needed to ensure that all vehicles report for tests, authentic tests are conducted, chances of corruption are minimized, and strong supervision and auditing systems are evolved. Diesel run vehicles and two wheelers, which are extremely polluting, would require specially designed advanced inspection testing procedures. Numerous and small testing PUC centres that are difficult to supervise should be phased out.

Key experts in this field:

JOHN ROGERS: Director, Trafalgar SA de CV, Mexico City. Will speak on 'Designing an effective Inspection and Maintenance programme'. Special focus will be on technical challenges in reducing particulate and other emissions from in-use diesel vehicles and two wheelers

MICHAEL WALSH: US vehicle technology expert. Will speak on 'Ways to improve vehicle inspection programme in Delhi: an overview of best practices'

LENNART ERLANDSSON: AVL Motor Test Centre AB, Sweden. Will speak on 'Ways to improve vehicle inspection programme in Delhi: an overview of best practices'

SUPAT WANGWONGWATANA: Deputy Director General, Pollution Control Department, Thailand. Will talk of strategies to address emissions from in-use two wheelers in Bangkok

4. Towards mobility management and controlling vehicle numbers
Two-wheelers constitute 70 to 80 per cent of the on-road vehicle fleet in most Indian cities. Despite their limited numbers, buses still cater to much of the travel demands in bigger cities. The growing number of vehicles in cities is leading to traffic congestion and slow speeds of vehicles. Slow-moving traffic aggravates the problem of air pollution.

Key experts in this field:

PAUL BARTER: Visiting fellow, public policy programme, National University of Singapore. Will speak on mobility challenges in Asia with a special focus on Singapore and other Asian cities

MANFRED BREITHAUPT: Transport economist, GTZ, Germany. Will discuss fiscal policies for mobility management

NGUYEN VAN QUOC: Head, Urban Services Management Division, HCMC Department of Transport and Urban Public Works, Vietnam. Will speak on 'Public transport strategy to reduce dependence on personal vehicles especially to restrict two wheelers in the cities of Vietnam'

AXEL FRIEDRICH: Head of the Environment, Transport and Noise Division at Germany's Federal Environmental Agency. Will speak on 'Public transport options in Asian cities and designing fiscal policies to promote public transport: lessons from Europe'

Apart from the expert's cited above, key officials from civil society groups from various Indian cities who have done interesting work in the field of air pollution, will also be available for interview. For instance, Jeevananda Reddy, Secretary, Forum for a better Hyderabad. Similarly Vinay Baindur, Programme Coordinator, Civic Bangalore. These civil society groups have created lot of awareness in this field.

Mary Jane Ortega, Mayor of San Fernando City, the Philippines, would also be present. She has single-handedly led a campaign against phasing out two-stroke three-wheelers in the San Fernando city.