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Tackling air pollution

by 5 Dec 2011

Adam Crook, of Defra’s air quality team, discusses the challenge of tackling air pollution and outlines the steps being taken to improve air quality. Poor air quality impacts negatively on public health and the environment, with significant economic costs.

The quality of the air that we breathe is of great importance to us all, yet addressing it can be seen to be a barrier to development and economic growth.

While we no longer have the same problems with air pollution that we did during the Great Smog of 1952, which caused thousands of deaths in just a few days, there still remains more that we must do to improve air quality in order to improve human health, protect the environment and to meet the requirements of European legislation. This will require hard choices to be made, and changes to our behaviour in order to reduce our impacts on air quality in pursuit of sustainable development.

Air pollution’s impacts on health and the environment

The impacts of air pollution on human health are recognised in the Government’s public health white paper, Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our Strategy for Public Health in England. Studies suggest that air pollution causes an average decrease in life expectancy in the UK of approximately six months, which increases for those who suffer from a range of illnesses affecting the heart or the lungs. The economic costs of this are estimated at up to £19 billion per year.

Air quality significantly affects our environment, damaging plants and animals and reducing our crop yields. As set out in the natural environment white paper, The Natural Choice: securing the value of nature, a healthy and properly functioning natural environment is the foundation of sustained economic growth, prospering communities and personal wellbeing.

Meeting European standards

Our air quality has now reached the standards set by our European legislative framework for most pollutants in most areas but achieving and maintaining compliance in major urban areas is a challenge for most member states, including the UK. It has been difficult in the past to achieve the standards on particulate matter (PM10) in London but the European Commission has accepted our case for additional time to meet the limits in London. Meeting the limits for nitrogen dioxide in a number of roadside locations is particularly difficult, with transport emissions having a significant impact on local air quality. Unfortunately some EU measures, such as new diesel vehicle engine standards, have not delivered all the expected emission reductions across the EU.

Through the European Commission’s review of existing air quality legislation, we need to ensure that the regime is credible, focuses on outcomes and takes account of the compliance challenges faced by most member states. We expect that the review will explore the scope for further reducing the negative impacts of air pollution on our health and on the environment, and consider how to simplify and streamline the legislation to make it as effective as possible.

Further improvements to air quality

The Government is taking action to improve air quality further, working with our partners in local government and in industry. We recently submitted air quality plans to the European Commission, which set out over 80 national measures (e.g. electric vehicle support), plus a number of local measures aimed at improving air quality at particular ‘hot spots’, which are supported by the Government-funded Air Quality Grant.

Transport emissions remain one of the largest causes of air pollution in the UK, particularly in urban areas such as London, which is why we committed £5 million of additional funding to the Mayor of London for local transport measures in 2011 to reduce the risk of exceeding limit values for particulate matter. We are investigating the options for a national framework of Low Emission Zones, as already seen in London and some parts of the continent, to assess their potential in improving urban air quality.

Industrial emissions are also significant. The Government will be consulting in early 2012 on the Industrial Emissions Directive, which came into force in early January 2011. This Directive clarifies and simplifies seven existing directives, which it will replace, whilst maintaining a high level of environmental protection.

Addressing air quality in policy

Air quality policy cuts across the work of various different Government departments. We need to work in partnership across Government, thinking carefully about how air quality fits with other policies, the Government’s commitment to the growth agenda, and efforts to simplify regulation. Difficult decisions will need to be taken, and we must consider how our actions affect air quality.

Many of the measures that can reduce our impacts on climate change in pursuit of sustainable development will also have a beneficial effect on air quality. However, we need to prioritise measures which are mutually beneficial, such as the increased use of public transport, cycling and walking, and work carefully on measures where compromises may be required, such as on limiting emissions from biomass heat installations in urban areas. Only then can we view air quality as a proper consideration in sustainable development, rather than as a barrier to progress.

Further reading

  • Air quality: Defra’s work on air quality in the UK.

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User comments

  1. Paul Garland says:
    7 December, 2011 at 10:59 am

    I am concerned that Local Planning Authorities do not take air quality issues seriously when dealing with development applications which will have an impact on air quality. There appear to be a number of reasons for this:
    1. Lack of sanctions for failure to take realistic measures to deal with AQMAs, especially where transport is the issue
    2. Division of responsibilities between Highway Authorities and Planning Authorities allows AQ to slip through the net
    3. Lack of specific AQ SPDs to guide applicants and case officers
    4. Perception that central govt. does not take AQ seriously because it is constantly putting off compliance with EU legislation
    5. Fragmentation of responsibilities to take ‘soft’ measures such as addressing the ‘school run’

    Reply
    • Defra says:
      12 January, 2012 at 1:27 pm

      Answering your points one by one:

      1. Guidance on air quality and planning is provided in PPS23. This states that air quality is a material consideration when considering planning proposals. This means that local planning authorities must give weight to any air quality risks that might arise as a result of a proposed development especially where it has potential to impact upon an air quality management area or lead to the declaration of new air quality management areas. Whilst air quality is not intended to sterilise or prevent development, PPS23 suggests that developers and others such as the Highways Agency or transport authorities should work together to identify mitigation measures which would allow development proposals to go ahead. Where this has not been possible there are examples of planning permission not been granted, most notably a recent planning proposal from a major supermarket chain was refused on air quality grounds.
      2. As indicated above air quality is a material consideration and where developments are likely to have air quality impacts they must be taken into consideration. The Highways Agency and local authorities where they have responsibility for roads must follow PPS23 as well as other guidance when considering planning decisions.
      3. Defra encourages local authorities to cover air quality in Supplementary Planning Documents and there are several examples of authorities that have taken this approach. Defra also publishes guidance on Low Emission Strategies and Planning which is available from the Defra Website.
      4. The Coalition Government has a commitment to work towards EU air quality standards. We are already meeting limits for most pollutants over the UK. With respect to NO2 the poor performance of some vehicle NOX abatement equipment against euro standards for Euro IV especially has made it very difficult to identify and implement measures to achieve the necessary improvements in the timescales originally envisaged. This is a challenge for all EU member states and was recognised by the 2008 Ambient Air Quality Directive which specifically allowed for Member States to extend the limit value deadline to allow measures to take effect.
      5. Local authorities generally lead on softer measures such as trying to influence the school run or travel planning for local businesses. Guidance on this is provided by DfT and others. The approach taken would be influenced by local circumstances.
      Reply

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