Shina Ansari, speaking at the Clean Air Day conference on Monday, highlighted the importance of addressing air pollution through renewable energy.

The event, attended by President Masoud Pezeshkian, carried the slogan “National Determination for Clean Air with Renewable Energy.”

Ansari noted that Clean Air Day, established in the late 1990s, was initially intended to draw public attention to air pollution during the most polluted season of the year.

“When the first comprehensive air pollution reduction plan was approved in 2000, we hoped to see fewer temperature inversions during this period. However, due to various reasons, in addition to Tehran, seven other major cities now face air pollution during the cold season,” she said.

She pointed out that the Clean Air Law, passed in 2017, included 228 mandates, only a small portion of which have been implemented. For example, while 24 million outdated vehicles, a major source of air pollution, are registered in the country, only a small fraction have been scrapped.

However, with procedural changes and the involvement of the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade, 273,000 vehicles were scrapped in the first nine months of the year. “We must reach the seventh development plan’s goal of scrapping 500,000 vehicles annually,” Ansari emphasized.

The DoE chief highlighted the reactivation of the National Air Pollution Reduction Task Force over the past five months under the 14th administration.

“In these meetings, focused on major cities like Arak, Isfahan, Mashhad, and Ahvaz, we approved actionable proposals,” she said.

Ansari expressed gratitude to the Oil Ministry for its participation in these meetings and its efforts to develop a structured plan to improve fuel quality and refine petroleum products despite the country’s challenges.

Ansari stressed that improving fuel quality, in collaboration with the Oil Ministry, and enhancing the efficiency of power plants, in cooperation with the Energy Ministry, are now priorities.

She emphasized the need to explain air pollution issues to the public and resolve them through inter-agency coordination.

“Air pollution did not emerge overnight, nor will it be resolved overnight. We must take effective steps with rational decisions and national determination to reduce unhealthy days and improve air quality within a defined timeframe,” Ansari concluded.