Tim presenting at ESRC Behaviour Change Seminar Series

On Monday 21^st September, Tim will be giving a talk about his work on ‘behaviour’ at the Watershed in Bristol as part of the ESRC Behaviour Change Seminar Series http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/bl/research/bsmc/esrcseminarseries.aspx

 

The series is organised by Bristol Social Marketing Centre at UWE, in conjunction with partners from Capita, City University London, National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), On Target Consulting, University College London, University of Bath, University of Exeter, and the University of Manchester.

 

Presentation for Transport Planning Society in Birmingham

Tim will be leading a workshop for the Transport Planning Society in Birmingham on Thursday 30^th July on Flexi-mobility – Re-thinking Everyday Travel Patterns.

 

The work stems from the EPSRC/Energy Programme funded Disruption project.

http://www.tps.org.uk/westmidlands/events/id/0808/

 

 

 

 

Tim at 14th International Conference on Travel Behaviour Research

This week Tim will be representing the Disruption project, the MOT project and the EPSRC Travel Behaviours Network at the 14th International Conference on Travel Behaviour Research in Windsor (19th-23rd July).

He will be giving a presentation on 'New geographies of motoring: Variations in car type, size, usage, emissions and energy use in the UK' 

http://www.iatbr2015.org.uk/index.php/iatbr/iatbr2015/paper/view/516

UWE represented at National Air Quality Symposium, Beijing

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 (22^nd – 27^th 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!

 

Travel Behaviours at the Transport Catapult

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.

 

 

 

 

_________________________________________
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

 

 

MOT and Disruption at the Future Cities Catapult

As part of the final engagement activities of the Travel Behaviour Network (http://www.travelbehaviours.net/) Tim helped organise an event on 15^th 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

 

 

Tim running workshop at LSx and Client Earth event

On Tuesday 7^th 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

 

 

 

Disruption project 'takeover' at Annual Transport Pratitioners Meeting

On Wednesday 1^st 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

 

 

Jo interviewed on BBC Radio Bristol

Jo was interviewed alongside Julie Girling MEP on BBC Radio Bristol on 18th June. Topics included the visit of Karmenu Vella, the EU Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries to the Bristol-Bath region, sources of air pollution in the area and some strategies for reducing air pollution.

To listen again follow this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02st2kv#auto and listen from 37-45 mins

Jim, Jo and Ben at the 52nd International Making Cities Livable Conference on Achieving Green, Healthy Cities

The 52nd International Making Cities Livable Conference on Achieving Green, Healthy Cities, co-sponsored by The University of Bristol and the University of the West of England, is in Bristol this week, and the AQMRC's Jim, Jo and Ben will be ensuring that air quality features prominently. Jim will be presenting under the 'Air Pollution, Urban Noise and Health' session on Thursday afternoon delivering a talk entitled Urban Air Quality in Historical Perspective - or why we fail to learn the lessons of history, in which he will expound on the need to learn from past mistakes in order to address modern air pollution problems in urban areas. Jo and Ben will be presenting in the poster session on the same afternoon, both on the theme of 'Learning from Bristol'. Jo's poster captures research undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of local air quality action planning using Bristol as a case study, while Ben will present the findings of the Bristol European Green Capital Air Quality Masterclass that we were invited to organize by Bristol City Council on behalf of the outgoing European Green Capital City, Copenhagen.



Jo provides expert advise at Air Quality Hackathon in London this weekend

Jo will be providing expert advise at the Future Cities Catapult Air Quality Hackathon in London this weekend. The event, which has nearly 100 registrants so far, aims to get designers, data scientist and creative technologists working with a multitude of relevant datasets to come up with solutions to the following questions:

•  How could data help policymakers to make more informed decisions around air quality?
•  How could we reduce the number of short journeys made by car and encourage more active mobility?
• How could we design tools or services to help people understand the causes or effects of air pollution? 

Jo will be presenting, alongside Professor Frank Kelly (KCL) and Usman Haque (Umbrellium), on Air Quality Management and Policy to set the context for the event and will remain on-hand throughout to deal with any questions and as part of the judging panel to award the best hacks. Further details of the event can be found here: http://www.urbaninnovationcentre.org.uk/event/air-quality-hackathon

 

Disruption Citizen Workshops

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. 

www.disruptionproject.net

www.fleximobility.solutions

Jim, Jo & Huw at Air Pollution 2015

Last week, Jim Longhurst, Jo Barnes & Huw Brunt attended the 23rd International Conference on Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Air Pollution 2015 in Valencia, Spain. Jim & Jo, as conference co-chairs, presented the keynote and invited presentations respectively, while Huw presented on his PhD research on air quality management and public health. The conference was very well attended with 90+ delegates registered and a very interesting range of presentations from across the field. The conference proceedings are also now published: Longhurst, J.W.S.,   Capilla, C., Brebbia, C.A.  & Barnes, J. (Editors) (2015). Air Pollution XXIII. WIT Press, Southampton and Boston. pp466, ISBN: 978-1-84564-964-7. 

New publication

Following the recent Air Pollution 2015 conference, the proceedings have been published. Professor Jim Longhurst & Dr Jo Barnes are co-chairs and editors of this publication.

 

Longhurst, J.W.S.,   Capilla, C., Brebbia, C.A.  & Barnes, J. (Editors) (2015). Air Pollution XXIII. WIT Press, Southampton and Boston. pp. 466, ISBN: 978-1-84564-964-7.

Soapbox Science Success

Jo was one of 12 female scientists (though the only one from UWE) selected to participate in the Soapbox Science event in Millennium Square in Bristol yesterday afternoon. Blessed with warm sunshine and an engaged and interested audience, the event was a huge success and a lot of fun! The aim of Soapbox Science is to raise the profile of women in science, however Jo's primary goal was to raise public awareness about air pollution. Armed with a arsenal of props, an hour's worth of spiel and the mandatory white coat, Jo talked, atop her box, about what air pollution was, where it came from and what it did to us, as well as getting the audience to think about how they could reduce their own exposure as well as reduce their emissions. Given that Bristol was selected for European Green Capital status in 2015 in part for its track record on air quality management, it was apt that this subject seemed to strike such a chord with the public.

New paper for MOT project accepted

Tim and Jo have just had a paper accepted by the prestigious journal Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment. The paper, co-authored with Prof. Jillian Anable at Aberdeen University, Prof. Eddie Wilson at Bristol and Dr Sally Cairns at TRL sets out methodologies for the spatial analysis of emissions from private car usage using annual vehicle test data. Maths work has been funded by the EPSRC under the RCUK Energy Programme with DfT and DECC as project partners. It is expected the paper will be available online within a couple of months.

Tim takes MOT and Disruption to France

This week (1st-6th June), Tim will be attending the ECEEE Summer Study near Toulon in France, where he will be giving presentation on the MOT project and running a workshop on the Disruption project for over 480 energy efficiency experts from across Europe and beyond.

Tim Talking About 'Behaviour' and Energy at Reading University

On 28^th 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.

DEMAND Transport and Fuel Poverty Workshp

His week Tim is representing the MOT and Disruption projects as an invited participant to an DEMAND Centre workshop on Energy-related economic stress at the interface between transport poverty and fuel poverty.

http://www.demand.ac.uk/events/event/workshop-energy-related-economic-stress-at-the-interface-between-transport-poverty-fuel-poverty-and-residential-location/

ClientEarth success at the Supreme Court

On Wednesday the 29^th 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 31^st 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!

Ben interviewed for Made in Bristol TV News

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 (10^th April) on Made in Bristol TV News.

Congratulations to Ben Williams on defending his PhD

Congratulations to our newest recruit Ben Williams on passing his viva at the University of Portsmouth on Monday 30^th 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.

 

 

Air Quality in the media

Air quality has featured heaviliy in the media this month, thanks in part to some excellent coverage from the BBC, sparked by their School Report. BBC News School Report gives UK secondary school students the opportunity to make and broadcast their own news. In February 2015, students from Oasis Brightstowe Academy, near Shirehampton, investigated their exposure to air pollution on their commute to and from school. AQMRC's Dr Jo Barnes advised on the monitoring and data analysis and was invited to participate in a number of interviews for TV and radio:

• Recorded radio interview with BBC Radio 4 Costing the Earth (3 Feb 2015)
• Recorded interview with BBC Radio Bristol (9 Feb 2015)
• Recorded TV interview with BBC Point West (12 Feb 2015)
• Recorded TV interview with CBBC Newsround (12 Feb 2015)
• Recorded interview with BBC World Service (12 Feb 2015)
• Live telephone interview with BBC Radio Bristol (23 Feb 2015)
• Live studio interview with BBC Points West (23 Feb 2015)
• Recorded TV interview with Made in Bristol (26 Feb 2015)

Many of these are available on the BBC iPlayer but here are a few additional links:

• BBC School Report: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolreport/31608825
• BBC World Service: http://t.co/XyXSMD1CAW
• BBC Radio 4 Costing the Earth: http://t.co/KfaO9Rj6GH
• CBBC Newsround: http://t.co/pBhwvEjOvY
• BBBC Radio Bristol Breakfast show podcast http://tinyurl.com/n6sz5fn (40:00-44:00 and 1:42-1:46)

Jo Interviewed for BBC Radio 4's Costing the Earth

This morning Jo was interviewed by the producer of BBC Radio 4's Costing the Earth on air quality in Bristol and the potential legacy of the Green Capital year for air pollution. The programme will be featured on February 24th.

Jo attended Public Health England Air Quality Event

Yesterday Jo attended the Public Health England 'Air Pollution and Pulic Health' stakeholder workshop. The purpose of the meeting was to help develop a Public Health England programme in support of national and local government to reduce mortality attributable to air pollution. The meeting was well attended by around 100 delegates from national and local governement and academia, primarily from air quality, public health and transport backgrounds.The workshop provided an opportunity to get wider feedback on the draft PHE work programme on air pollution for 2015/16 developed in conjunction with the PHE's Air Pollution and Public Health Advisory Group on which Jo also sits. Details of the meeting can be found online: https://www.phe-events.org.uk/hpa/frontend/reg/thome.csp?pageID=179225&ef_sel_menu=1416&eventID=458&eventID=458 and the presentations can be viewed here: https://www.phe-events.org.uk/HPA/media/uploaded/EVHPA/event_458/Onsitenew.pdf

Tim Running York Council Workshop

On Friday 30^th January, Tim, along with Prof. Greg Marsden and Dr Caroline Mullen of the Institute for Transport Studies in Leeds, ran a workshop for York City Council transport planning department.  The workshop explored the concept of ‘Flexi-Mobility’ that has been developed from the 3.5 year EPSRC project “Disruption: Unlocking Low Carbon Travel.

 

For more information on ‘Flexi-mobility’ and what it might mean for sustainable transport policy see our engagement website here http://www.fleximobility.solutions

 

New Publication on Cycling and Social Practice Theory

Tim and David, along with colleagues Fiona Spotswood and Alan Tapp from the Bristol Social Marketing Centre, have just had a new paper on Cycling and Social Practice Theory published in Transport Research Part F: Psychology and Behaviour

 

The paper is Open Access and can be downloaded here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847814001776

Abstract

Despite significant national and local efforts over the last decade to stimulate uptake of cycling in the UK, levels of cycling (particularly utility cycling) remain at around 2% of journeys. Understanding of cycling behaviour and subsequent development of interventions has typically been undertaken using an individualist approach, often relying on psychologically based models of behaviour. This paper argues that Social Practice Theory (SPT) may be a valuable addition to practitioner’s toolboxes by providing an alternative means of understanding the complex dynamics between the elements that constitute the practice of utility cycling, allowing it to be considered as a social issue, rather than focusing solely on individual behaviour. This is demonstrated within the paper by the use of SPT to reanalyse quantitative and qualitative datasets that explore views and experiences of both cyclists and non-cyclists. Therein, the practice of utility cycling is described according to its three elements; materials, meaning and competences and the potential benefits of this approach are discussed; particularly its ideological shift away from ‘victim blaming’ and its natural support of interdisciplinary intervention design.

 

Tim and David at UTSG

Tim and David have been at the 47th Annual Conference of the University Transport Studies Group this week presenting work from the Disruption project.

Tim was presenting the project's Green Paper on 'Flexi-mobility' (for mor details see http://www.fleximobility.solutions

David was presenting work from his PhD on 'Social Practice Theory and Sustainable Mobility' looking at the implementation of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund.

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.

New policy package to clean up Europe's air

Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik has just announced a new package of policies to address air pollution in Europe. Watch the press conference on EbS here and read the full press release here.

Jo presents MOT presentation at CTS Winter Conference

Jo gave a very well-received presentation on 'Variations in car type, size, usage and emissions across Great Britain' at the Centre for Transport Studies' Winter Conference at UWE this afternoon, on behalf of Dr Tim Chatterton. As well as academics from a number of institutions, the conference was also attended by local policy-makers from transport and highways. The presentation set out the initial findings from our spatial and longitudinal analysis of the MOT dataset focusing on emissions and energy at a Post Code Area level. The work is being undertaken under WP2.2 of an 3-year EPSRC/RCEP-funded project, led by Prof. Jillian Anable (University of Aberdeen), with Prof. Eddie Wilson (University of Bristol and Dr Sally Cairns (Transport Research Laboratory/University College London). Further details about the research can be found on the AQMRC webpages.

Defra publish response to LAQM consultation

Defra published their response to the LAQM consultation on Friday 13th December. The consultation had provoked 232 'substantive' responses (including from 133 local authorities)and more than 18,000 petition responses. In general the report appears to reflect the sentiments and arguments of those responses. A summary of the conclusions and next steps is presented below:

Aim 1 – Local Action focused on what is necessary to support air quality improvements to benefit public health and to work towards EU air quality standards

There was sufficient support for Defra to develop more detailed proposals for consolidating the Air Quality (England) Regulations 2000 and the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010. This would need to take account of:

1. The extent to which local authorities should be expected to meet or work towards EU air quality standards
2. The need to have clarity as to the role and relationship between Defra’s national assessment of compliance with EU limit and target values, and locally derived air quality assessments.

As part of this,

Defra will review the range of air quality objectives that apply to local authorities, taking into account the relevance of these objectives for health protection, and the levels assessed in recent years.

Aim 2 – Local government and other stakeholders are clear on their roles and responsibilities and work together to improve air quality

There were clear concerns that currently different tiers of authorities and even to some extent different departments within authorities do not work effectively for the benefit of local air quality. Whilst most respondents supported the current arrangements for district and unitary authorities to have responsibility for assessment of local air quality many also recognised the key role that transport and planning authorities had in influencing air quality and in delivering improvements.

The Environment Act 1995 states that first tier authorities must cooperate with district tier authorities on the identification of measures to improve air quality and must be consulted upon plans. There is also clearly much in the way of good practice available to demonstrate what can be achieve by successful cooperation.

Defra will review the need for additional guidance on these duties as part of its review of guidance to local authorities in fulfilling their duties under the Act.

Aim 3 – Local authorities have simple reporting requirements with less bureaucracy and more time to concentrate on actions to improve air quality and public health

There was clearly support for a review of the reporting required in Local Air Quality Management. In particular there was support for removing the need for a three year updating and screening assessment of local air quality. There was also strong support for an annual report of local air quality which is public facing. This report should provide an overview of air quality across a local authority and a report of progress with actions to improve air quality.

There was some support for providing flexibility in reporting for local authorities that had no significant local air quality hotspots.

Defra will make proposals to introduce regular annual reporting on air quality for local authorities, taking into account comments made and following further discussions with stakeholders on the content of such reports.

 

There was support for clarity on the purpose of local and national air quality assessment, and for local actions to be valued and represented both within and without nationally identified exceedance areas.

There was overwhelming support for retaining AQMAs as a frame for defining the extent of a locally designated exceedance and where actions to improve air quality should be focused. However, there was also support for having some flexibility in applying these, especially for areas where exceedances or exposure was relatively low.

Defra will take account of the support for retaining AQMAs and will also review guidance on declaration/revocation procedures in order to reduce administrative burdens, taking into account matters of health impacts through exposure to air pollution and scope for measures.

  

Aim 4 – Local authorities have access to information about evidence based measures to improve air quality, including on transport and communications

There was clear support for producing and increasing access to information on evidence-based measures, including on transport and communications. A number of examples were cited, especially on communication schemes.

Defra will continue to explore (with delivery partners and stakeholders) way of improving and disseminating evidence-based measures, including supporting innovative schemes. We will revise official guidance to coincide with the implementation of changes to the LAQM system, likely in mid-late 2015.

Fracking and the Environment

Enda presented at a recent Fracking event (11^th December) sponsored by RGS and CIWEM. The event covered the implications of fracking on the environment.  AQMRC’s, newest PhD, Jenna Brown presented on the background and regulatory side of fracking, UWE’s Chad Staddon addressed the water angle while Enda looked at the implications for air quality and GHG.  The event was very well attended with >70 people from various background including consultants, Environment Agency, politicians and concerned members of the public.  The UWE team are planning on turning the lectures into  ‘working papers’ to disseminate our thoughts and evidence to the wider public…………..more to follow.

Tim quoted in new report on 'Climate Silence'

The Climate Outreach and Information Network has just published a new report on “Climate Silence and How to Break It” .

 

This report describes the blanket of silence that has descended on the issue of climate change in the UK in the past five years. The report argues the debate urgently needs new narratives that make the link between the climate challenge and ordinary people’s lives.

 

Tim was interviewed by Dr Adam Corner of Cardiff University who wrote the report and it  contains a quote from Tim comparing problems following the Climate Change Act 2008 to those that have beset the air quality  community since the Environment Act 1995.

 

The report is available here: http://www.climateoutreach.org.uk/portfolio-item/climate-silence-and-how-to-break-it/

Expert workshop on Smart Meters

On Monday 9th December, Tim has been invited by DECC to participate in an Expert Workshop on Smart Meters at the Department or Business Innovation and Skills in London.

Jo in the 'Hot Air' headlines

A quote from the ‘Hot Air’ section at the back of the excellent Air Quality Bulletin.

 

‘There’s a new troublemaker on the block – and not quite who you’d expect. At a recent meeting in London there was energetic backtracking on consultation plans to dismantle LAQM. But there were no plans to dismantle LAQM it seems!! We were assured that is was never the case that the consultation had proposed to remove statutory duties from local authorities.  Whereas most were left scratching their heads questioning their memory and deciding that age was not on their side, up jumped the usually serene Jo Barnes of UWE waving an original copy of Government plans which appeared to differ somewhat from the re-imagined plans being presented. Perhaps we should set her upon the Highways Agency to challenge them on the facile answers to air quality questions?’

 

 

Tim to give lecture at Transport Operations Research Group (TORG), Newcastle University

On Wednesday  11th December 2013, Tim will be giving a presentation in Newcastle on "Working at the Interface of Air Quality, Climate Change, Public Health and Energy – Issues and Opportunities"

 

At the present time the future of air quality policy is looking increasingly uncertain.  For much of the last decade and a half the UK government had convinced itself that the problem would be resolved by now through technological measures.  However, following widespread exceedences of the EU limit values for NO₂ and PM10 the government seems more interested in weakening the European legislation, or pulling out of the EU altogether, than in making the changes that would be necessary to tackle our air pollution problems.  It is clear that the single issue approach to air pollution taken to date has led to a primary focus on tightening  vehicle emission standards, and that this has failed.  To develop a new approach to addressing air pollution will require dealing with our transport system – the main source of our existing air pollution problems.  Fortunately, air quality is not the only problem associated with transport, but to develop and implement the radical solutions necessary to deal with the various problems will require significant collaboration over policy and scientific boundaries in respect of air pollution, climate change, public health and energy.  This presentation will cover work from Tim’s current EPSRC/Energy Programme funded projects Disruption (www.disruptionproject.net) and MOT (Motoring and vehicle Ownership Trends in the UK www.tinyurl.com/MOTproject) as well as wider work on co-management of air quality and other issues undertaken by AQMRC@UWE.

 

 

Tim and Jo produce MOT paper for UTSG conference

Tim, Jo and the rest of the EPSRC funded MOT project team (Prof. Jillian Anable at Aberdeen University, Prof. Eddie Wilson at Bristol University and Dr Sally Cairns at TRL/UCL)  have had a paper accepted for presentation at the Universities’ Transport Study Group conference in Newcastle on 6-8^th January 2014.  The paper presents a broad overview of the potential of the DfT/VOSA dataset to create yet another new geography of pollution – one that is based around the users of both cars and energy, rather than the point of emission.

 

Further information on the MOT project can be found here:  http://www.abdn.ac.uk/ctr/research/currentbr-research-projects/mot/

 

A copy of the conference paper is available here: http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/22075/1/Chatterton%2C%20Barnes%2C%20Wilson%2C%20Anable%2C%20Cairns%20UTSG%202014-Variations%20in%20car%20type%2C%20size%2C%20usage%20and%20emissions.pdf

 

Chatterton, T., Barnes, J., Wilson, R., Anable, J. and Cairns, S.(2013) Variations in car type, size, usage and emissions across Great Britain and relationships with socio-demographic characteristics. In: Universities’ Transport Studies Group, Annual Conference January 2014, Newcastle, 6-8th January 2014

Tim invited to give lecture at Oxford Institute of Sustainable Development

Tim has been invited to give a seminar on “Re-thinking ‘household’ energy use - experiences at the frontiers of policy” at the Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development as part of their 2013 seminar series.

 

The lecture will reflect on Tim’s experiences on working on energy issues with various government departments over the  last 3 years, and where a 12-month Fellowship based in DECC has taken his research agenda.  In the current context of headlines about rising energy bills and “Cutting green c%#p” Tim will be reflecting on the challenges of communicating not just climate science, but social science too.

 

http://oisd.brookes.ac.uk/seminars/2013.html

 

Abstracts accepted for Air Quality 2014

AQMRC has had two abstracts accepted for the 9th International Conference on Air Quality – Science and Application in Germany in March next year. http://www.airqualityconference.org/

 

The abstracts are for:

 

A Study of Ozone Concentrations and Trends Across Europe: 1996-2010

This study reviews ozone concentrations from rural monitoring stations across Europe between 1996 and 2010 across a range of statistics with regard to the various objectives, target values and thresholds established by the 2008 Ambient Air Quality Directive 2008/50/EC. The findings reveal that whilst there have been complex and varied changes in patterns of ozone concentrations during the last 15 years, there are still extensive exceedences of the various regulatory standards and that while peak concentrations may have been decreasing, background concentrations are on the rise.

 

Extended abstract available here: http://www2.uwe.ac.uk/faculties/FET/Research/AQMRC/Abstracts/Ozone_Trends_Abstract.pdf

 

A Study of Ozone Exposure Across Europe: 2004-2010

This study presents an assessment of exposure to ozone exceedences across Europe using a new methodology based around the Eurostat degree of urbanisation (DEGURBA) classification, which provides the ability to categorise exposure into ‘Urban’ (‘densely populated’), Suburban (‘intermediate density’) and Rural (‘thinly populated’) areas. The study considers exposure to a range of regulatory standards for ozone as set out in the 2008 Ambient Air Quality Directive 2008/50/EC. It finds that although concentrations may be higher in rural areas, numbers of population exposed to exceedences of the standards are significantly higher in both urban and suburban areas.

 

Extended abstract available here: http://www2.uwe.ac.uk/faculties/FET/Research/AQMRC/Abstracts/Ozone_Exposure_Abstract.pdf

 

The work is co-authored with partners at The Danish Centre for Energy and Environment at Aarhus University, Roskilde, Air Quality Consultants Ltd.  and Milieu in Brussels and relates to work undertaken for DG Environment as part of support services for the review of the Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution.

 

Full author list:

T. Chatterton (1), E. Hayes (1), J. Barnes (1), J. Longhurst (1), D. Laxen (1) J. Irwin (1), H. Bach (2), J. Brandt (2), J.H. Christensen (2), T. Ellermann (2), C. Geels (2), O. Hertel (2), A. Massling (2), H.Ø. Nielsen (2), O.K. Nielsen (2), C. Nordstrøm (2), J.K. Nøjgaard (2), H. Skov (2), F. Pelsy(3) and T. Zamparutti (3)

(1) Air Quality Management Resource Centre, University of the West of England, Bristol, BS16 1QY, UK; (2) DCE - Danish Centre for Environment and Energy, Aarhus University, Denmark; (3) Milieu, 15 rue Blanche, Brussels 1050, Belgium

Jo presented at IAQM meeting

Jo gave a very well-received presentation at the IAQM AGM in London yesterday, entitled "Wither LAQM?" - a pun (if one was necessary) on the status of LAQM following the recent LAQM consultation. The Chair gave a verbal overview of IAQM's concerns prior to Jo's talk, and a Defra representative presented Defra's response. The Chatham House rule prevents a more detailed disclosure of persons or events, but needless to say, the feedback from Defra on the consultation responses so far was very interesting...

Jo presenting at IAQM meeting tomorrow

Jo has been invited to speak at the IAQM AGM, entitled: 'Where now for LAQM'. The members' only meeting is being held in London tomorrow afternoon. Jo will be presenting, in addition to IAQM, in response to Defra's feedback on the LAQM Consultation. Further details about the meeting are available on the IAQM website http://iaqm.co.uk/event/iaqm-agm-where-now-for-laqm/. 

New paper for Tim

Tim has just had a new paper published setting out a lot of the work that he undertook in his ESRC funded Fellowship based in the Department of Energy and Climate Change and subsequent follow-on funding.

 

The paper, which is Open Access and written with Dr Charlie Wilson from the Tyndall Centre at UEA, describes and critiques the current tendency towards ‘universalist’ conceptions of behaviour within UK government policy, before setting out a tool aimed to help practitioners in all fields in developing a much broader understanding of the behavioural challenges that they seek to address.

 

Tim Chatterton & Charlie Wilson , Transportation Planning and Technology (2013): The ‘Four Dimensions of Behaviour’ framework: a tool for characterising behaviours to help design better interventions, Transportation Planning and Technology, DOI: 10.1080/03081060.2013.850257

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03081060.2013.850257

The paper was developed as an extension of the report that Tim wrote for DECC on ‘Thinking about Energy Behaviour: A multi-model approach’ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48256/3887-intro-thinking-energy-behaviours.pdf

 

and his EPA commentary with Charlie on ‘Multiple models to inform climate change policy: a pragmatic response to the `beyond the ABC' debate’ http://www.envplan.com/epa/editorials/a44404.pdf

Jo presents at EPUK Autumn Conference

Environmental Protectection UK held their first national conference since its rise from the ashes, yesterday at Aston University, Birmingham. Covering the range of EPUK's core interests, the day provided an interesting and diverse series of talks on issues such as hydraulic fracturing with shale gas, noise policy and action plans, life-cycle analysis of steel production, and charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. Addressing the recent LAQM consultation, Jo Barnes was invited to speak on the 'Implementation of Defra's Air Quality policy'. The talk, which outlined UWE's reponse to the consutlation, was well-received and was welcomed by the chair of EPUK's Air Quality Committee, Sarah Legge, as a key issue that they had also responded to on behalf of EPUK.