Breathing Life into the New Urban Agenda: Integrating Air Quality and Green Infrastructure for Resilient Cities

Name: Breathing Life into the New Urban Agenda: Integrating Air Quality and Green Infrastructure for Resilient Cities
Start: 2026-05-20
End: 2026-05-20
Location: Azerbaijan

20 May 2026

Baku, Azerbaijan

Overview

Agenda & Speakers

Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2026

Time: 14:00 - 17:00 (UTC+4, Baku time) - half-day forum

Location: High-Level Forum venue - Baku, Azerbaijan

Virtual/livestream link: TBC

WUF13 High-Level Forum | Convened by IDEA Public Union with UNEP, UN-Habitat, WHO, and partners

About the Event

Cities are entering a decisive decade in which urbanisation patterns will determine not only economic growth and climate resilience, but also the fundamental conditions for human health. While urban planning and housing have largely focused on horizontal expansion and vertical density, the complex interplay between environmental health and urban design has often overlooked one of the most fundamental human needs: clean air. The International Dialogue for Environmental Action (IDEA Public Union) will convene this High-Level Forum to elevate air quality from a niche health concern to a core structural pillar of urban development, planned, measured, and delivered through housing policy, infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks.

The forum will promote integrated planning approaches that embed air quality alongside housing, green infrastructure, and climate resilience, drawing on concepts such as “aerodynamic urbanism” and blue-green infrastructure as “natural technology.” It will spotlight IDEA’s Bizim Həyət (Our Yard) project as a community-led case study of acupuncture urbanism in high-density housing contexts. UNEP’s contribution will bring the global perspective through the GlobalABC and the UNEP-led Cool Coalition on passive cooling, heat-resilient buildings, and sustainable urban environments.

The forum will conclude with the adoption of the Baku Call for Breathable Cities, a formal communiqué calling for air quality to be included as a standing item in future World Urban Forum agendas, for global benchmarks on minimum per capita green space in new developments, and for climate-responsive design to be integrated into national housing policies worldwide.

If you have any questions or would like more information about the event, please contact mahir.aliyev@un.org.

Speakers

Ms. Leyla Aliyeva — Founder and Head, IDEA Campaign, Azerbaijan (Opening Remarks)
Ms. Anacláudia Rossbach — Executive Director, UN-Habitat (Global Standards for Breathable Cities)
Ms. Elizabeth Mrema — Deputy Executive Director, UNEP (The Health-Climate-Urban Nexus)
Mr. Anar Guliyev — Chairman, State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture, Republic of Azerbaijan (National Strategy & New Urban Agenda)
Ms. Maria-Krystyna Duval — Executive Director for Europe, Clean Air Fund (Air Quality for Public Health)
Panel Moderator: Prof. Alexandre Hedjazi — University of Geneva
Dr. Elnur Safarov — Coordinator, Caspian Climate and Resilience Initiatives, IDEA — Air Pollution & Urban Resilience in Baku and Caspian-Central Asia
Mr. Mahir Aliyev — UNEP Regional Coordinator for Europe, UNEP
Dr. Dorota Jarosinska — Programme Manager, Living Environments and Climate Mitigation, WHO Regional Office for Europe — Health impacts of “Air Poverty” in low-income housing
Ms. Cecilia Vaca Jones — Executive Director, Breathe Cities, Clean Air Fund — Breathe Cities initiative
Ms. Umayra Taghiyeva — Deputy Minister, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Republic of Azerbaijan
Closing speaker: TBC

Agenda

14:00 – 14:10 | Opening film — short film on air quality in cities
14:10 – 15:00 | Session 1: Framing the Future — High-Level Keynote Addresses
→ 14:10 – 14:20: Opening remarks & vision setting — Ms. Leyla Aliyeva, IDEA Campaign
→ 14:20 – 14:30: Global standards for breathable cities — Ms. Anacláudia Rossbach, UN-Habitat
→ 14:30 – 14:40: The Health-Climate-Urban Nexus: beyond the 2030 Agenda — Ms. Elizabeth Mrema, UNEP
→ 14:40 – 14:50: National strategy & the New Urban Agenda — Mr. Anar Guliyev, State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture, Azerbaijan
→ 14:50 – 15:00: Air quality for public health — Ms. Maria-Krystyna Duval, Clean Air Fund
15:00 – 15:30 | Coffee break — photo taking, informal networking, photo exhibition on urban air quality around the globe
15:30 – 16:45 | Session 2: Panel Discussion — “Clean Air as Urban Infrastructure: Delivering Healthier Cities”. Moderated by Prof. Alexandre Hedjazi, University of Geneva
→ Dr. Elnur Safarov (IDEA): Air pollution & urban resilience — exposure assessment and scalable solutions for Baku and the Caspian-Central Asia region
→ Mr. Mahir Aliyev (UNEP): UNEP regional perspective (topic TBC)
→ Dr. Dorota Jarosinska (WHO Europe): Health impacts of “air poverty” in low-income housing
→ Ms. Cecilia Vaca Jones (Clean Air Fund): Breathe Cities initiative
→ Ms. Umayra Taghiyeva (Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Azerbaijan): national perspective (topic TBC)
16:15 – 16:45 | Open floor Q&A — interactive session between audience and panellists
16:45 – 17:00 | Session 3: Closing — Adoption of the Baku Call for Breathable Cities communiqué: integrating air quality strategies into national housing policies and future WUF agendas. Closing speaker: TBC

Did you know?

1/5 of global black carbon emissions come from the transport sector.

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