00:04Air pollution is the biggest issues of our time.
00:12Ships carrying most of the world's trades and the fuels they burn release pollutants that can travel far inland.
00:18That's a major source of air pollution.
00:21In this episode of Earth Now, I'm in Turkey, where shipbuilders are developing cleaner ways to build and power vessels.
00:27Then, we travel to landlocked Uzbekistan, where the government is fitting filters and real-time monitors to factories and backing
00:35a national plan to clean up the air.
00:37This tug, built in Turkey, runs on batteries alone.
00:40The country's shipbuilders say it was the world's first zero-emission tug and that they now run the largest fleet
00:45of electric tugs anywhere.
00:47In fact, we are always discussing about decarbonisation, but sometimes we are missing the air pollution site.
00:54Our intention is we are living in a community in Tuzla region, in shipyard region.
00:59So, we don't want to emit carbon dioxide and also we don't want to, in fact, we don't want particulate
01:07matter.
01:07So, we found the solution in Turkey in order to make our air clean.
01:13It's very important because the vast majority of the ports are inside the cities.
01:18So, these are also very important for the community health.
01:22Tugs, ferries and pilot boats work close to shore in almost every country.
01:26Turkey shipbuilders say they are too often overlooked.
01:29In fact, all these ships are global ships because all over the world, every country has some kind of ships.
01:37Tug boats, pilot boats, small vessels, ferries.
01:40In fact, the community really focused on ocean going bigger ships, but there is a missing part.
01:46But before we started, it's not a proven technology.
01:49But now we can say that, yes, we can electrify tug boats and also some ferries and some other small
01:56boats
01:57to avoid from the carbon emissions, avoid from air pollution.
02:02The technology is proven, she says. Paying for it is harder.
02:06The private sector has some abilities, but unfortunately, there should be a finance mechanism in order to support this transition
02:15from conventional vessels to alternative fuels, battery vehicles and other wind-assisted propulsion systems.
02:22Changing industry also means changing how the next generation is trained.
02:26At Turkey's specialist maritime university, environmental courses are now part of the teaching.
02:31So, we have Black Sea, Marmara Sea, Asian Sea and Mediterranean Sea.
02:38So, the maritime industry is important for Turkey.
02:41The maritime industry is huge globally.
02:45So, what we teach to our students is not important just for them, but also the whole world.
02:52Turkey is helping to find the solution of air pollution in maritime industry.
02:57We are nurturing the future, so we see AI as a powerful tool to solve these environmental problems.
03:06And we teach our students in that way.
03:10Cleaner ships are one part of the answer.
03:12Knowing what is in the air is another.
03:15A professor at Samson University says it starts with health.
03:18It matters because this air pollution is a health method for people, especially for respiratory problems.
03:26And, of course, some asthma and some other cardiac problems can happen with this air pollution.
03:32This air pollution is a global issue, not a local issue, because wind blows and when the pollutants take from
03:38somewhere,
03:38it takes even from hundreds and hundreds of kilometers, sometimes thousands.
03:41So, it's a global phenomenon, not a local.
03:45Back in the shipyards, the industry says its technology is ready for others to use.
03:50So, we are always open any kind of cooperation to make the world more cleaner and safer.
03:57That's all from Turkey. Electric tugs are one way to cut emissions at sea.
04:02But for millions of people, the air they breathe is shaped by what happens closer to home.
04:07We now head to Uzbekistan, where their focus moves from the sea to the factory floor,
04:12and the government is pushing industry to clean up what it releases.
04:15Air pollution is a challenge in several parts of Uzbekistan.
04:20Official assessments record periods of pollution above established standards in Tashkent,
04:25Navoyi, Frigana, Cherchuk and Termes.
04:28Industry heating and traffic all contribute, alongside dust and weather conditions.
04:33A World Bank assessment published in 2024 found PM2.5 levels in Tashkent
04:39well above the World Health Organization guideline.
04:42In late 2025, Uzbekistan stepped up its response.
04:48As sources increased inspections of factories, heating facilities, construction sites and greenhouses around Tashkent.
04:55But not all of the pollution comes from sources as sources can directly control.
05:16Other sources can be tackled closer to where emissions are produced.
05:21At this automotive engine plant in Tashkent, pollution control begins before emissions leaves the factory.
05:27We have installed air treatment plant, like scrubber, wet scrubber, filters, bag filters, in order to reduce emissions, which goes
05:42to the air.
05:43This year we installed an automotive air monitoring station for dust monitoring.
05:49There are two different jobs happening here.
05:52A equipment like this is designed to remove pollutants from the air produced by the factory,
05:57the monitoring system that measures what remains before the emissions reach the atmosphere.
06:02In March, the response was expanded into the nationwide Clean Air Project for 2026 to 2030.
06:08The program targets a 10.5% cut in overall emissions by 2030 and a 10% reduction from transport.
06:17But emissions alone do not determine pollution levels.
06:20The atmosphere atmosphere and temperature can be affected by the atmosphere.
06:37So, during the atmosphere, the emission and nuclear conditions are covered by the atmosphere,
06:42which needs to be recorded.
06:48pollution from industrial sources.
07:18One monitor the data around the clock and can dispatch inspectors if limits are exceeded.
07:23One monitoring station can tell us what is happening here, a network of them can begin
07:28to show how air pollution moves across an entire city, where it rises, when it falls,
07:33and where people may be most exposed.
07:37From the shipyards of Turkey to the factories of Uzbekistan, the push for cleaner air is
07:42gathering pace.
07:43The real measure of success will be in the air people breathe in the years ahead.
07:48That's all for this episode of Earth Now, see you next time.
