Implementing SDG 12.4:
Potential Solutions to Pollution
Challenges, Tannery Industry
July 6, 2021
Shazia Z. Rafi,
President, AQA
www.airqualityasia.org

AQA: Parliamentary Campaign to implement Clean Air SDGs
and the Paris Agreement
Ø AQA convenes parliamentarians, city officials, UN and development
agencies, green finance and NGOs working on different segments of Air-
Quality with initial focus on Asia.
Ø Right to Clean Air proposed at IPU meeting November 2013 by Chairman
Senate of Pakistan with Parliamentary Working Group on CA, clean air
language negotiated in SDGs 2030 with strong targets. These SDGs
adopted by all governments September 2015.
SDG 3.9 By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from
hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination.
SDG 11.6 By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities,
including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste
management.
SDG 12.4 By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals
and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international
frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to
minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.

Pollution Deaths by Country Income
SOURCE: GAHP

Challenge for Pakistan Tanneries Industry
“Environmental performance” = meeting increasingly stringent environmental
legislation, is required now for by importing countries and our own
government.
Cleaner technologies => lower overall pollution and hydraulic load, with lower
effluent treatment investment and operating costs.
In developing countries like Pakistan individual tanneries must employ the more
complex and costly biological (secondary) treatment in their own ETPs
before discharge into open water recipients such as rivers and lakes.
Environmental protection agencies should regulate not only air polluting
emissions, but also the absorption capacity of the receiving environment.

Before Covid and after Covid photo of Lahore

Source: The Economist

Chile Power plant emission
standard
+
green tax on emissions.
2009 2017

1. Green investments generally create more jobs than
fossil fuel investments
Sustainable Recovery: World Energy Outlook Special Report. IEA and IMF. June 2020.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Gas power
Coal power
Urban transport infrastructure
Solar PV
Building efficiency
Jobs created per $1 million investment - Global
Source: