Professor Martin Bigg and a small team of academics and environmental leaders were invited by the Consultative Committee to the State Council, China, to advise on air quality matters, and the drafting of Chinese air quality legislation.
During the visit (22nd – 27th June), Professor Bigg presented at the National Air Quality Symposium in Beijing and subsequently visited Shandong Province, Jining and Taian, where he met with national and regional leaders. During the visit, air quality management expertise developed in the UK, particularly in reference to the challenges within cities, was discussed. The recent developments and plans for the City of Bristol and the roles of both Universities and regulators in understanding and addressing air quality challenges was also highlighted.
There was a great deal of interest from the Chinese delegates in the UK’s experience and expertise on air quality questions, and a desire to explore further how this might be made available to them. To this end, we look forward to hearing from our colleagues in the Chinese air quality soon!
As part of the final engagement activities of the Travel Behaviour Network (http://www.travelbehaviours.net/) Tim helped organise an event on 23rd June at the Transport Catapult in Milton Keynes, and presented work from the Disruption and MOT projects there as well as running workshop sessions on them.
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Dr Tim Chatterton
Senior Research Fellow
Air Quality Management Resource Centre
Faculty of Environment and Technology
University of the West of England
Frenchay Campus
Bristol
BS16 1QY
Tel: 0117 328 2929
Fax: 0117 328 3360
Email: Tim.Chatterton@uwe.ac.uk
As part of the final engagement activities of the Travel Behaviour Network (http://www.travelbehaviours.net/) Tim helped organise an event on 15th June at the Future Cities Catapult, and presented work from the Disruption and MOT projects there.
_________________________________________
Dr Tim Chatterton
Senior Research Fellow
Air Quality Management Resource Centre
Faculty of Environment and Technology
University of the West of England
Frenchay Campus
Bristol
BS16 1QY
Tel: 0117 328 2929
Fax: 0117 328 3360
Email: Tim.Chatterton@uwe.ac.uk
On Tuesday 7th July, Tim will be running a workshop session on transport behaviour based around the work of the Disruption project at the London Sustainability Exchange and Client Earth event “Taking a Deep Breath: Cleaning Up London’s Air”
http://www.lsx.org.uk/news/events.aspx?id=3640
On Wednesday 1st July, Tim organised a co-ordinated set of 4 presentations and a workshop around the Disruptio project (www.disruptionproject.net) at the PTRC 2015 Annual Transport Practitioners Meeting.
The presentations consisted of:
· David Williams on his PhD work on “Defining and delivering sustainable transport: who has the power to change the way we travel?”
· Jillian Anable and Tom Budd’s work from Aberdeen University(presented by Tim) on “Responses and adaptability to disrupted travel patterns – a questionnaire study”
· Noel Cass and James Faulconbridge’s work from Lancaster University on “Spatial, temporal and social factors in everyday mobility and modal choice – 3 years of ethnographic studies”
and
· Greg Marsden and Jeremy Shires from Leeds University on “Disruption as it happens - a selection of responsive case studies”.
Tim, Caroline Mullen and Greg also ran a workshop on “‘Flexi-mobility’ – Re-thinking Everyday Travel Patterns” (see www.fleximobility.solutions)
_________________________________________
Dr Tim Chatterton
Senior Research Fellow
Air Quality Management Resource Centre
Faculty of Environment and Technology
University of the West of England
Frenchay Campus
Bristol
BS16 1QY
Tel: 0117 328 2929
Fax: 0117 328 3360
Email: Tim.Chatterton@uwe.ac.uk
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Tim is in Leeds on Friday and Saturday this week, working with the Institute of Transport Studies at Leeds University running citizen engagement workshops for the Disruption project.
On 28th May, Tim gave a seminar to the School of Construction Management and Engineering at Reading University on his work on energy consumption and ‘behaviour’. The talk covered a range of work from his DECC Fellowship, Follow on Fund (4 Dimensions of Behaviour), the Disruption and MOT projects and his recent work for the Committee on Climate Change.
On Wednesday the 29th of April the UK Supreme Court voted unanimously that the UK Government has failed to secure compliance with EU limit values for nitrogen dioxide concentrations within certain zones under Directive 2008/50/EC. As such, they have been ordered to submit new air quality plans to the European Commission, no later than the 31st December 2015.
This judgement sends a strong message that harmful levels of air pollution are unacceptable and must be addressed promptly. The AQMRC are pleased with this result and we look forward to the anticipated consultation period later in the year.
Congratulations to ClientEarth on this hard-won case!
Air pollution has been covered widely in the media during the last week or so due to a period of particularly poor air quality affecting much of the UK. This period of poor air quality was as a result of contributions from industry and agriculture on mainland Europe, some contribution from Saharan sand and significant proportions of local emissions. Although the South East and East of England are experiencing the highest levels, Bristol has also been affected. To this end, Made in Bristol TV interviewed Ben and discussed this pollution episode and its potential impact on Bristol and its residents. The interview will be broadcast at 6pm and 9pm tonight (10th April) on Made in Bristol TV News.
Congratulations to our newest recruit Ben Williams on passing his viva at the University of Portsmouth on Monday 30th March (subject to minor corrections). Ben’s PhD is on the ‘Source Apportionment and Dispersion Mapping of Fugitive Dust using Directional Passive Monitors’. We look forward to the publications from his thesis and their subsequent impact.