Integrating Science, Policy and Finance to Address Air Pollution in Pakistan

In a hotel lobby in Lahore, Pakistan, Dr. Tony Wexler couldn’t see clearly from across the room. Even inside, the air left a blurry mirage—and when he looked out the window, he could only see a block away until the street was consumed by a white haze. It was December 2025, and Dr. Wexler, the director of the UC Davis Air Quality Research Center (AQRC) and distinguished professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Land, Air and Water Resources, was here on the job: in a few days, an exciting collaboration between UC Davis and Fair Finance Pakistan would commence.

The 2025 Air Sensors International Conference Pakistan – Mitigation Series (ASIC) was a new endeavor: branching off from the broader ASIC conferences, it sought to address air quality issues with an emphasis on the role of finance and funding clean technology. With funding from the Clean Air Fund, the UC Davis AQRC and Fair Finance Pakistan developed a pilot convening to get mitigation technology on the ground in Pakistan. This pioneering conference was the first time that multiple stakeholders were in the same room with the same goal: actionable air pollution mitigation. With AQRC bringing credible institutional research and expertise and Fair Finance Pakistan linking civil-society and finance, the conference provided a space for Pakistan’s researchers, industry leaders and policymakers to connect and develop cleaner—and safer—infrastructure.

According to IQAir, Pakistan is ranked as the third most polluted country in the world. A combination of agricultural burning, transportation and the disproportionate effect of climate change has rendered the country’s population extremely vulnerable to health issues related to poor air quality. According to the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, the average life expectancy in Pakistan has decreased by 3.8 years because of air pollution—and in the most polluted areas, that number jumps to 7 years. 

The air pollution in Pakistan is, quite literally, killing people. “The statistics show that people die from heart attacks from PM 2.5 particles in the air,” says Dr. Wexler. For context, Pakistan’s PM 2.5 concentration is 73.7 µg/m³, around 15 times higher than the WHO guideline of 5µg/m³. But it’s not just heart attacks—lung disease, asthma and cancer rates are also very high in many areas of Pakistan. 

The unusually high levels of particulate matter in the air are largely due to methane and black carbon emissions. Also known as soot, black carbon is formed through the combustion of wood, waste and fossil fuels. Much of Pakistan’s industry relies on burning: brick kilns, energy generation via coal and agriculture contribute heavily to high carbon and methane levels. 

“This is a classic tragedy of the commons,” said Dr. Wexler. “Each farmer is losing from the air pollution, but each farmer is gaining because it's cheaper to burn their field than to use a tractor.” Lack of sustainable technology only continues to perpetuate this cycle. 

Reducing the amount of these short-lived climate pollutants results in immediate effects. They can have extreme health impacts over a very short amount of time, but removing them yields benefits almost instantly. By targeting these short-term pollutants, as well as those that linger in the atmosphere (like CO₂), air quality can be tackled from multiple angles. This has a positive impact on the climate and public health, but also on the economy—just like what we saw with Dr. Wexler’s agriculture example. 

But in order to create solutions, you must first have data. Though Pakistan’s scientists and policymakers are constantly working on improving air quality, reliable sensors and sustainable infrastructure remain inaccessible. “There is very little understanding in the first place about the issue of air quality,” said Dr. Abid Aman Burki, Chair of the ASIC Technical Program Committee and professor emeritus at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). “There is no data. There are no sensors that are reliable. Even at the government level, [there are] very few sensors. As a result, there is a lot of confusion about the air quality index,” he continued. 

That air quality index is what gets mitigation on the ground in the first place. Getting data leads to implementing technology—but a big barrier to that is, of course, funding. 

“Finance cannot remain neutral in the face of air-pollution risks. At the strategic level, the industries driving particulate pollution are also creating serious health risks for workers and surrounding communities—risks that ultimately translate into credit and operational exposure for businesses and financial institutions,” said Asim Jaffry, one of the founders of the ASIC – Pakistan. “In many developing economies, outdated industrial processes persist because they remain inexpensive and weakly regulated. At the same time, companies often delay investment in cleaner technologies unless global buyers and supply-chain partners begin demanding stronger environmental performance and technological upgrades.” 

Part of the goal of ASIC – Pakistan was to connect financial institutions, such as banks and business leaders, to the researchers and engineers who have access to mitigation technology. That technology already exists, Dr. Wexler described—it’s just not being used in these areas. By bringing these groups together, ASIC – Pakistan helped connect the different pieces of the air pollution mitigation puzzle. 

“If you have finance, that turns plans into implementation—especially for energy, transport and industry,” said Dr. Burki. “Climate finance can unlock cleaner technologies that are otherwise too costly up front….Funding should prioritize high-impact sectors, such as renewable, clean transport, waste and agriculture.” 

By deploying next-generation air sensors and emission-mitigation technologies in various high-impact areas across Pakistan, ASIC targets the biggest contributor to air pollution: industry. Air sensors are expensive—and with air quality differing across areas, you need a lot of them. Many of these sensors work by reflecting or absorbing light from tiny particles in the air, but the concentration of those particles is vastly different if you’re near a freeway as opposed to out in nature. Increasing the availability of this technology is a crucial step in monitoring the emissions generated by these industrial sectors. 

“The ASIC Pakistan Mitigation Series seeks to bridge science, policy and finance by strengthening the measurement of air pollution and advancing breakthrough mitigation technologies. Clean air is not only an environmental objective—it is a matter of public health, economic resilience, social equity and finance must play a catalytic role in accelerating this industrial transition,” Jaffry continued.

The collaboration also generated insights that extended beyond Pakistan. “The thing that's coming back around mostly is the policy connection,” said Dr. Wexler. With government officials attending the conference, there was a direct pipeline from research to regulation. 

“They've got plenty of political pressure to lay off the emissions because those companies don't want to have to spend money to reduce their emissions. It was really good at engaging government and also engaging industry,” Dr. Wexler continued. 

The 2025 Air Sensors International Conference Pakistan – Mitigation Series illustrated how important it is to incorporate various perspectives into pollution mitigation. Collaboration between UC Davis research and Fair Finance Pakistan’s knowledge on funding and industry ensures that technology is not only developed, but also implemented. It’s how we see immediate effects, and it’s how we can save lives.