In Jakarta, a city known for its vibrant urban life, rising levels of air pollution from car and industrial emissions represent a growing health threat to residents. On most days in 2023, residents in Jakarta were exposed to air pollution that exceeds the government’s national air quality standards. To tackle this pressing issue, Breathe Jakarta, a new partnership between Vital Strategies, the climate leadership group C40 Cities, Clean Air Fund and Bloomberg Philanthropies, worked with Jakarta Health Agency and Jakarta Environment Agency to highlight the issue as part of Jakarta’s main World Environment Day celebration in June. The event, themed “One Harmony, Better Life,” emphasized the interconnectedness of environmental aspects such as air, water, land, energy and lifestyle, in advancing clean air.
Jakarta’s main World Environment Day 2024 event was held on June 8-9, 2024, at Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno stadium. The event focused on integrating the five essential environmental aspects—air, water, land, energy and lifestyle—into a unified strategy that fosters positive change.
The event included an Environmental Health Talks session, a presentation by experts and key speakers from organizations working to improve the quality of life for the people of Jakarta, including Breathe Jakarta, which discussed insights into the causes of declining air quality in Jakarta and shared effective strategies for improving air quality.
The Jakarta Race was also organized as part of this series of events to encapsulate the core concepts of the five elements of climate improvement through interactive games. A highlight of this event was the Ideathon contest which invited individuals, community groups and organizations to identify problems and propose solutions to enhance their communities and residents’ quality of life. The Jakarta BERJAGA movement, which encourages citizens to adopt the habit of walking 7,500 steps per day, was also promoted by the heads of Jakarta’s health and environmental agencies.
With such a tremendous response and strong participation from people, Jakarta is well on its way to protect its people from air pollution.
Learn more at Air Pollution and Health.