Northeast Asian Subregional Programme on Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC) Secretariat and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and Environment (MOE) of the Republic of Korea held the 1st Roundtable Discussion on Transboundary Air Pollution in Northeast Asia in 2014 to examine the status quo of transboundary air pollution in the region, national and regional mitigation efforts in Northeast Asia, and explore possible collaborative potentials within the region.
This year, the three organizers co-hosted the 2nd Roundtable Discussion on 9 December, 2016 in Seoul, Republic of Korea to review their efforts in the past two years, learn from existing cooperative mechanisms in other parts of the world, and discuss potential options of a subregional cooperation framework on transboundary air pollution. Some notable suggestions on institutional arrangements included NEASPEC's Science and Review Committee and its working groups, and Northeast Asian Clean Air Program (NEACAP) together with a multidisciplinary expert network.
In addition, the outcomes of the Roundtable will support discussions of member governments on a new subregional programme during the 21st Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) of NEASPEC, to be held on 16-17 March, 2017.