Tim at Act Travelwise Conference

On 9th December, tim will be presenting the work of the Disruption project on 'Flexi-mobility' at the Act Travelwise annual conference in Birmingham.

DECC Workshop on Behaviour

On Tuesday 2^nd December, Tim has been invited to participate in a workshop organised by the Department of Energy and Climate Change on ‘behaviour’.

The Climate Change Committee

Tim was invited to participate in a workshop organised by the Committee on Climate Change on Thursday 25^th, to help develop a framing for incorporating ‘behaviour’ into the 5^th Carbon Budget.  The workshop was attended by a range of social scientists and looks set to be the start of a long and interesting process!

Tim presents 'Flexi-mobility' to Bristol City Council

On Tuesday 25^th November, Tim presented the work of the Disruption project around the concept of ‘Flexi-mobility’ to Bristol City Council transport team.

Bristol Air Quality Masterclass success

AQMRC are proud to announce the success of the Bristol Air Quality Masterclass held on 28th and 29th October. The event, which was hosted by Bristol City Council as the 2015 Green Capital City on behalf of the current Green Capital, Copenhagen, was organised and run by AQMRC and Bristol City Council with speakers and delegates from across Europe. Both of the Copenhagen Mayor, Morten Kabell, and Bristol's Mayor, George Ferguson, attended and and gave keynote talks on air quality in their respective cities. The purpose of the event was to share good practice in air quality management among policy makers, practitioners, students and members of the public. The first day comprised of a number of presentations and case studies with stand-out presentations from Dr Ian Mudway at KCL and Alan Andrews from ClientEarth who set out the key health and legal challenges. On the second day a workshop was held using Crystal Interactive technology to examine the challenges and possible solutions to reducing air pollution in our towns and cities, from which a report will be produced by AQMRC summarising the key themes and issues.
For a full list of registered delegates, programme, presentations and a feedback form for attendees, please visit: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/node/24456. Tweets from the day can be found using the hashtag #AQMasterclass.




Speakers from the AQ Masterclass (from L-R: Carlo Trozzi (Techne Consulting), Steve Crawshaw (BCC), Simon Hayes (Global-Local), Alan Andrews (ClientEarth), Ian Mudway (KCL), Steen Solvang Jensen (DCE/Aarhus University), Martin Lutz (Berlin) and Anke Lükewille (EEA); absent Brian Hansen (Copenhagen))

Ben Williams joins the team

We are delighted to announce that Ben Williams has joined the Air Quality Management Resource Centre as a Research Associate. Ben joins us from DustScan Ltd where he gained over 5 years of experience in dust monitoring, assessment and particle characterisation. Prior to DustScan Ltd Ben completed a Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme in which he developed a source apportionment and mapping method for nuisance dust. This KTP topic provides the basis for Ben's PhD, entitled 'Source Apportionment and Dispersion Mapping of Fugitive Dust using Directional Passive Monitors', which will be submitted before the end of the year.

Jo on BBC Sunday Politics West

Jo was interviewed on BBC Sunday Politcs West broadcast yesterday speaking about air pollution in Bath. Catch it on iPlayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04l2tfl/sunday-politics-west-19102014

Jo interviewed by BBC Radio Bristol

UWE's Dr Jo Barnes was interviewed this afternoon on Bristol's air quality by BBC Radio Bristol (94.9 FM). The station's breakfast programme will be doing a piece on air quality in Bristol tomorrow morning at 07:40 and 08:40. Do tune in!

Jo talks about Bristol Bright Night and air pollution research on Bristol Community Radio...

Jo was invited to speak, together with Maddy Bartlett from Bristol Natural History Consortium, on Bristol Community Radio (BCfm) last Saturday about the air pollution research she will be presenting at Bristol Bright Night this Friday. The interview can be found on http://bcfmradio.com/saturday – click on ‘10:00 - 20/09/2014’ and scroll to 10:30ish. For more info on the Bristol Bright Night go to http://www.bnhc.org.uk/festival-of-nature/bristol-bright-night-overview/.

Jo presents at RGS-IBG Annual International Conference

Both Tim and Jo attended the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) with IBG)) Annual International Conference on the Geographies of Co-production last week. The conference was very well-attended by academics from a wide range of fields within Geography and gave an excellent opportunity to deepen the understandings and perspectives of our research in a broader context. In the session entitled 'Social Justice, Mobility and Energy Demand', Jo presented initial analyse undertaken in the EPSRC-funded MOT project. The presentation on 'Air pollution and energy use in England and Wales - a social and environmental justice analysis' was very well-received and will form the basis of a forthcoming paper submitted to Environment and Planning A.

Its official.......Congrats to Dr Jo Barnes

Following 5 years of exceptionally hard work and dedication, Jo graduated yesterday having completed her PhD. Additionally, Jo was awarded FET DGEM Researcher of the Year 13/14 and the Nurul Leksmono Memorial Prize for the best PhD. Well done Jo, everyone at AQMRC and UWE are very proud of you!!

AQMRC wins Framework Agreements on Air, Climate Change and Noise for European Environment Agency

AQMRC has been selected by the European Environment Agency (EEA) as single operator for three major Framework Agreements in the areas of air (lot-1), climate change (lot-2) and environmental noise (lot-3). AQMRC will be undertaking these framework agreements with Triple E Consulting, as lead partner, TNO, Aether Ltd, ARCADIS Belgium, the Danish Centre of Environment and Energy (DCE), Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Oeko Institute, REC, Ricardo-AEA Ltd, RIVM, Transport and Mobility Leuven (TML) and the University of Barcelona (UAB).
The purpose of these Framework Agreements is to provide expert assistance in the areas of air, climate change and environmental noise to the EEA, in order to underpin its delivery of the multi-annual work programme 2014-2018 in the years 2014-2017. Across all lots of the Framework Agreement, EEA's operational objectives currently include supporting the identification of issues and policy measures; supporting the development of policy measures and the implementation of policies and legislation; tracking of progress towards the achievement of short- and long-term targets as defined in relevant EU and international policies; and the tracking of related transition processes for issues such as emission reductions, loads on ecosystems, air quality standards, human health impacts, climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation and related economic sectors.

Jo awarded 2013/14 FET DGEM Researcher of the Year

Congratulations to Jo who was this week awarded the accolade of 2013/14 Faculty Researcher of the Year for the Department of Geography and Environmental Management. Jo is a Research Fellow in the Air Quality Management Resource Centre who has recently defended, effectively, her part-time PhD. She has shown remarkable determination and collegiality working in a small team environment to progress significant externally funded projects in research and knowledge exchange as well as developing her leadership potential as an eaarly career researcher. Jo will be awarded £1000 of staff development funding to used during 2014/15.

Jo and Huw present at Public Health England Air Quality meeting

Jo and Huw both attended and presented at the 'Public Health England Annual Review Meeting on Outdoor and Indoor Air Pollution Research in the UK' in Solihull last week. Jo gave an oral and poster presentation on 'A Study Of Ozone Concentrations And Trends Across Europe: 1996-2010' and 'A Study of Ozone Exposure Across Europe: 2004-2010' based on work undertaken on behalf of the European Commission, and Huw presented a poster on the initial stages of his PhD, entitled '"Back to Basics" – a call for Local Air Quality Management to return to its public health roots'. The event was very well-attended by academics and practitioners in the fields of public health and air quality, presenting an opportunity for both sides to gain valuable insight into the fundamentals of air pollution epidemiology as well as the wider application and implications of this research.

Research Associate post advertised

The Air Quality Management Resource Centre in the Faculty of Environment and Technology at UWE, Bristol are seeking to appoint a Research Associate in Air Quality and Carbon Management. This research position offers an exciting opportunity to make a significant contribution to the future of air pollution and climate policy through high-level engagement with national and international bodies. The main duties are: 
• To undertake a variety of air quality and carbon analysis work, as part of the AQMRC team, for a range of high profile partners and clients. 
• To contribute to a range of air quality, climate change and energy policy analysis and development work. 
• To support a range of on-going air quality and carbon management research and consultancy projects.

Further details and applications can be made online at http://goo.gl/bxunlV and the closing date is 22nd June. For further details, please contact jo.barnes@uwe.ac.uk.

AQMRC's Global Research Impact

The AQMRC have a history of sharing expertise and developing partnerships through research globally, with resultant impact on policy development at home and abroad. Some specific examples of AQMRC's research impact are now provided on the UWE webpage (http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/research/researchimpact/improvingairquality.aspx) and you can also see details of our wide range of current and recent projects on our Research Project pages (http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/et/research/aqmrc/researchprojects.aspx).

UK deaths from air pollution mapped in Google

A new interactive map showing the data from the Public Health England report on deaths in over 25's from long-term exposure to PM2.5 has been published by the Guardian today - http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/interactive/2014/apr/10/air-pollution-deaths-uk-borough-interactive-map. It allows you to search by postcode to identify the effects of air pollution in your area, and the 'big picture' also shows a clear south-east predominance emanating from London, even across more sparesely-populated rural areas.

Jo presented at Air Quality Conference in Germany

Jo presented a 'Study on Ozone Concentrations and Trends in Europe: 1996-2010' at the 9th International Conference on Air Quality - Science and Application in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on 27th March 2014. A pdf of the presentation can be downloaded here http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/22820/. This was a presentation of research undertaken by Dr Tim Chatterton as part of a consortium contract for the European Commission to assess the reasons for non-compliance of ozone target value set by Directive 2008/50/EC and potential for air quality improvements in relation to ozone pollution. The summary report for this project is now available on the European Commission website as supporting documentation to assist in their review of the implementation of the Directive and can be accessed here: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/pdf/review/Final_ozone_report.pdf.
Jo commented: "This was an excellent conference, very well organised by Hertforshire University and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), with some fantastic presentations and posters. It was a great networking opportunity with nearly 300 delegates in attendance and plenty of opportunities for mingling and socialising. I would also like to thank the organisers for the opportunity to chair the final day's sessions on Air Quality Management and Policy."

Jo fields media enquiries about air pollution episode

In response to the media interest in the elevated pollution experienced over much of the UK today (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26844425), Jo made the following statement (http://info.uwe.ac.uk/news/UWENews/news.aspx?id=2791), which has been followed up in interviews including with the Daily Mail and the Bath Chronicle as well as tweeted and retweeted by UWE News and others (https://twitter.com/uwebristolnews/status/451329543698006016).

"While the high levels of air pollution that we are seeing this week across England and Wales are as a result of a combination of short-term meteorological factors and continental and Saharan sources, it is important to recognise that this is simply adding to and exacerbating existing long-term poor air quality experienced in many of our towns and cities much of the rest of the time. There are already more than 60% of UK local authorities with Air Quality Management Areas declared for exceedances of air quality objectives for nitrogen dioxide (NO­₂) and particulate matter (PM₁₀), primarily for traffic-related sources. In February 2014 the European Commission launched legal proceedings against the UK for its failure to cut excessive levels of NO₂. Technological solutions (e.g. Euro standard vehicles) have not delivered the expected reductions in pollutant emissions and resulting concentrations and behavioural changes (e.g. driving less) are difficult to bring about without greater public awareness and education about the effects of individual’s actions. It is therefore good to see that this week’s extreme pollution has made it onto the media and public consciousness, but I hope that it doesn’t give the false impression that once the rains come everything will be fine!"

Enda invited to join the Editorial Advisory Board of the Clean Air Journal

Enda has just joined the Editorial Advisory Board of the South African Clean Air Journal following an invite from the Journal Editors. The AQMRC team have contributed to the Journal on a number of occasions and this continues the close link that AQMRC has with government officials, academics and environmental practitioners in South Africa. The journal website is www.cleanairjournal.org.za.

 

Enda invited to Vietnam by the Mekong River Commission

Enda has been invited by the Mekong River Commission to present at their International Conference on ‘Cooperation for Water, Energy, and Food Security in Transboundary Basins under Changing Climate’ (Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, 2-3 April 2014).  Enda will be presenting some of his nexus work looking at the strategic role that the Severn River Basin could play in delivering the UK’s 2050 ambitions of an 80% reduction in GHG. Enda will explore specific energy projects (such as tidal, nuclear and shale gas) that may deliver against the UKs decarbonisation plans but at what cost to water and food security.

 

Jo chairing and presenting at 9th International Conference on Air Quality

Jo will be attending the 9th International Conference on Air Quality in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany next week, where she will be presenting a paper on "Ozone Concentrations and Trends Across Europe: 1996-2010" and a poster on "Ozone Exposure Across Europe: 2004-2010". These were both developed from research undertaken by Dr Tim Chatterton as part of of a consortium contract for the European Commission to assess the reasons for non-compliance of ozone target value set by Directive 2008/50/EC and potential for air quality improvements in relation to ozone pollution. Jo has also been invited to chair a session on 'Air quality management and policy'. Further details about the conference can be found here: http://www.airqualityconference.org/

 

Irish ammonia impact project gathering pace

Following the Project Inception Meeting back in January, this collaborative project with University College Dublin investigating the impact of ammonia on Natura 2000 sites on behalf of the Irish EPA has started to gather pace. The project website can be found here - http://ssu.ie/research/ammonian2k/. Enda Hayes and Mark Everard are involved in this project, managing two work strands on Data Analysis/Modelling and Ecological Assessment.

Enda presenting at the Nexus 2014 Conference

Enda is in the US at the moment presenting at the Nexus 2014 Conference. Hosted in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the conference looks at the inter-connectivity of water, energy, food and climate. Enda is presenting on the work that UWE has done with Bristol City Council investigating low carbon futures for Bristol (www.futurebristol.co.uk)

Openair paper most popular download!!

The South African National Association for Clean Air Journal statistics indicated that our Openair paper is the most popular single paper downloaded from the current issue.  It appears that everyone loves a pretty graphic!!

Openair paper in South African Clean Air Journal

Following Enda’s visit and presentation at the IUAPPA Clean Air Congress in Cape Town last year, our paper on “Utilising Openair to support multi-stakeholder engagements and the resolution of air quality issues” has been published in the official journal for the South African National Association for Clean Air.  The paper and journal can be accessed here http://www.cleanairjournal.org.za/.  Subsequently, Enda has been invited to write an editorial for the May/June issue of the journal.

Jo interviewed on BBC Radio Somerset about Highways Agency consultation

Jo was interviewed last Tuesday live on BBC Radio Somerset about the Highways Agency's consultation on the introduction of 60 mph speed limits on the M1. Jo spoke up on the contribution of motorway traffic to poor air quality and the damage this may be having on those living in close proximity, but criticised the Highways Agency for their "disingenuous" use of air quality in their argument to introduce speed limits. If, as stated in their consultation document, the Highways Agency's intention is to improve traffic flows in order to increase the capacity on motorways to enable future traffic growth then this is not a long-term solution for air quality.

AQMRC assisting the Irish Environmental Protection Agency

AQMRC has just started a 3 year research project, in collaboration with University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland, to assist the Irish Environmental Protection Agency in the quantification and assessment of the impact of ammonia from intensive agriculture installations on Natura 2000 sites. Enda is leading AQMRC's involvement which takes him back 10 years to collaborate with his old PhD supervisor, Dr Tom Curran from UCD, on a subject which was closely related to Enda' PhD topic. Additionally, Dr Mark Everard (UWE Associate Professor) is on board to support in the ecological assessment aspects of the project. The project will have a dedicated website in due course and the primary aim is to enhance the accuracy of Irish EPA submissions as part of their EU reporting requirements.