Approach
What We Do
To improve air quality in Almaty, we developed the AIR-TARGET framework. It focuses on three key processes that need to be advanced and accelerated (AIR), supported by six tools for scaling impact (TARGET).
Awareness
One of AAI’s key areas of work is building sustained public demand for improved air quality and making air pollution a priority on the city’s agenda. Raising public awareness is considered essential for driving systemic policy changes and enabling long-term decision-making.
Global practice shows that data transparency and public understanding are what drive important changes. A clear example is the ban on smoking on board aircraft: until the 1960s, smoking was considered an acceptable norm, but the publication of medical data on the harm of second-hand smoke changed public perception. Awareness grew into public demand, which subsequently led to regulatory restrictions and changes in safety standards.
A similar approach is applied in the field of air quality. Until the problem is documented by data and becomes a subject of ongoing public discussion, it is not perceived as a policy priority.
At the same time, increasing residents’ awareness of the causes and consequences of air pollution contributes to changes in behavioural patterns: informed citizens are less likely to engage in practices that increase harmful emissions and make more environmentally friendly decisions in their daily lives. In addition, they understand how to reduce individual risks during periods of heavy smog—adjusting physical activity, using protective equipment, and relying on monitoring data.
Taken together, this reduces the negative impact of pollution on public health and increases the resilience of the urban environment to environmental risks.
Infrastructure Changes
One of AAI’s next priority areas is promoting infrastructure solutions with a measurable environmental impact.
Raising awareness creates public demand, but meeting this demand requires systemic changes in energy, transport, and key urban infrastructure, as confirmed by international experience. Long-term improvements in air quality are possible when environmentally sustainable solutions become part of urban infrastructure and begin to operate “by default”—through improving the efficiency and environmental sustainability of the energy sector, transforming the transport system, and modernising key urban processes.
Following this logic, AAI systematically studies international best practices in emissions reduction and urban modernisation, adapts them to the conditions of Almaty, and communicates its analytical findings and recommendations to the relevant government authorities and city administration.
AAI’s focus includes modernising heating systems and connecting private households to the gas network, developing public transport, expanding the fleet of electric buses and electric vehicles, gradually reducing the number of cars—particularly high-emission vehicles—introducing filtration systems and best available techniques at combined heat and power plants, as well as comprehensively upgrading the city’s environmental infrastructure.
Regulation
Almaty Air Initiative works systematically with the regulatory environment, adapting international best practices and transforming monitoring and analytical data into practical management decisions.
International experience confirms that sustainable changes take hold when evidence and public demand are transformed into mandatory rules. A clear example is Sweden’s Vision Zero programme, which aims to reduce road deaths. The introduction of speed limits, mandatory seat belt use, and other regulatory requirements in the 1990s made it possible to reduce road traffic deaths by more than three times.
A similar approach was implemented in China in 2013 under the national Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan. The establishment of strict PM2.5 standards, the gradual phase-out of coal heating, the mandatory installation of filters at industrial facilities, and stronger transport controls made it possible to significantly reduce fine particulate matter concentrations in the country’s largest cities within 7–10 years.
How we work
The Foundation’s work is structured around six areas:
Technology
Technology is one of the most effective tools for scaling socially significant change. It makes it possible to address challenges at the city and national levels with high speed, transparency, and optimal use of resources, ensuring that solutions can be replicated and further expanded. In the environmental field, technological tools play a key role in the transition from fragmented observations to systematic management.
Digital platforms, hardware and software solutions, and analytical models make it possible to identify sources of pollution, track air quality trends in real time, model impact scenarios, and assess the effectiveness of implemented measures.
AAI develops and implements technological solutions for air quality monitoring, emissions diagnostics, and environmental risk reduction, creating a reliable evidence base for management decision-making and protecting public health.
Art
Art is an effective tool for spreading ideas and shaping public values. Artistic and visual formats allow complex topics to be communicated through emotions and images, making them understandable and meaningful to a broad audience. This approach increases engagement, encourages reflection on social issues, and accelerates the acceptance of new meanings.
In the environmental agenda, art makes it possible to speak about air quality not only through the language of data, but also through personal experience and emotional perception. AAI uses creative formats to draw attention to the problem of air pollution, expand public dialogue, and build sustained demand for systemic changes.
Research
Research is the foundation of an evidence-based approach to air quality management and makes it possible to develop a comprehensive understanding of pollution sources, their impacts, and the effectiveness of the measures taken.
AAI conducts applied research based on monitoring data, international methodologies, and the city’s local context. The work includes analysing the spatial distribution of pollutants, modelling emissions-reduction scenarios, and assessing the contribution of different pollution sources.
A separate area of research consists of sociological surveys and assessments of public awareness. They make it possible to identify perceptions of the air quality problem, residents’ behavioural patterns, and their readiness for change, as well as to track changes in public demand over time.
As part of its in-depth analytical work, AAI studies international cases, conducts comparative analyses of successful practices, and carries out detailed research into priority environmental issues. This approach includes analysing existing constraints and potential points of intervention, making it possible to adapt global experience to Almaty’s conditions and develop recommendations.
AAI’s research activities provide a scientifically grounded basis for infrastructure and regulatory solutions and contribute to data-driven management decisions.
Research is the foundation of evidence-based air quality management, making it possible to understand the impact of pollution sources and the effectiveness of the measures taken.
AAI conducts applied research based on monitoring data, international methodologies, and local conditions, including spatial analysis, modelling, and source contribution assessment. Sociological surveys and awareness assessments help to understand residents’ perceptions of the problem, behaviour, and readiness for change, as well as to track changes in public demand.
AAI studies international cases and successful practices, analyses constraints and points of intervention to adapt solutions to Almaty’s conditions and develop recommendations. In this way, AAI’s research creates a scientifically grounded basis for data-driven regulatory and management decisions.
Governance
Effective improvement of air quality is impossible without the active participation of public authorities and cross-sectoral cooperation.
AAI builds constructive dialogue with government bodies and relevant agencies, participates in working groups and expert discussions, and also contributes to the development of regulatory and strategic documents aimed at implementing sustainable environmental solutions and creating long-term changes in the field of air quality.
Education
Education is a key element of long-term environmental change and is viewed by AAI not only as the transfer of knowledge, but also as the creation of an environment for scientific research and technological breakthroughs capable of influencing air quality in the long term.
AAI develops cooperation with educational institutions and the academic community, implementing awareness-raising and educational programmes for various target audiences. Through education, the initiative contributes to changing perceptions of the air pollution problem, fostering environmental responsibility, and increasing public engagement.
This approach aims to educate current and future generations that are ready to support and advance systemic environmental reforms and sustainable environmental practices.
Trends & Media
Media and public trends play a key role in shaping the priorities of the city’s agenda and accelerating environmental change. Mass media and digital media resources contribute to building public demand and ensure the rapid dissemination of ideas, data, and expert opinions.
AAI monitors public and media trends, analyses changes in interest in environmental issues, and maintains a sustained presence of the air quality topic in the public space. Its work with the media is aimed at disseminating reliable information, developing expert dialogue, and preventing the distortion of environmental data.
Through strategic communications and partnerships with leading media outlets, AAI strengthens the influence of analytics and data on public opinion and management decisions, contributing to the formation of sustained demand for clean air.
Thus, to achieve its goals, AAI uses the integrated TARGET model, which combines technological solutions, research and analytical work, communication and creative visual formats, as well as partnerships with government and business.