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/.