Routes to Clean Air 2019 Defra

1. Implementing the Clean Air
Strategy
IAQM Conference
Bill Parish
16 September 2019

2. The UK is first major economy to adopt goals based on World Health
Organization (WHO) recommendations:
“I applaud the United Kingdom’s Clean Air Strategy,
which will not only help to protect the health of
millions of people, but is also an example for the rest of the
world to follow.”
“Plant Life is also carried, welcoming the commitments made
by the government, as they believe the negative impacts
agriculture has on air pollution have been neglected for too
long.”
“We welcome this Clean Air Strategy as a step in the right direction.
"However, we're disappointed that it doesn't include a clear commitment
to adopt the WHO limits for particulate matter pollution in the upcoming
Environment Bill.”
2

3. Action across Government
Transport Sector Strategies
3

4. Air pollutants and impacts on health
4
Formaldehyde CH2O
Ozone O3

5. Updating health impact evidence and damage costs
Air Quality Damage Cost Update 2019 (Ricardo for Defra)
https://ukair.defra.gov.uk/assets/documents/reports/cat09/1902271109_Damage_cost_update_2018_FINAL_Issue_2_publication.pdf
Updated on the basis of a refined understanding of the impact of living with diseases caused by
air pollution, in addition to the costs of mortality.
For NOx:
• the damage cost has increased significantly from the original damage costs in 2006 due to the
inclusion of the mortality effects associated with chronic exposure;
• however, relative to the 2015 damage costs, all NOx sector-specific damage costs have
decreased significantly.
For PM:
• The damage costs increased significantly between the 2015 and this latest update to the
damage costs.
5

6. OFFICIAL - SENSITIVE 6
Emissions are the total amount of each pollutant that ends up in the atmosphere.
Concentrations are the amounts of pollutants found within a specific area – often
where people are.
All everyday activities contribute to poor air quality
6

7. Railway contribution to national pollution emissions
National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI – 2017)
PM 2.5
• 1.15kt (0.96 from passenger and 0.19 from freight) out of 106kt
total (1.1%)
NOx
• 24.6kt (19.5 from passenger and 5.1 from freight) out of 874kt
total (2.8%)
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8. Public awareness and concern
Awareness of air pollution is high, but personal relevance is
low:
8
Knowledge of specific health issues is poor:
Source: Public Attitudes to Air Quality Report for Defra, by Dr Michael Turner & Robert
Struthers May 2018
Source: Attitudes to air pollution, Global Action Plan, December 2018

9. National emissions of
air pollutants

10. UK national emissions
10
• Long-term decline in the emissions of key air pollutants since 1970.
• With the exception of ammonia and PM2.5, emissions of all pollutants
continued to decrease in 2015. in 2015.

11. Meeting our Emissions Ceilings in 2020 and 2030
If we took no further action, we would be likely to breach our emission ceilings for PM2.5
and NH3 in 2020 and all five of our emissions ceilings in 2030.
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12. Immediate implementation challenges
Alongside these sits a targeted delivery programme on the UK’s most
immediate air quality challenge: tackling roadside NOx/NO2
concentrations.
12
• Defra will consult this year on a policy to reduce emissions from urea-based fertilisers (which
emit on average 7 times more ammonia (NH3) than alternatives like ammonium nitrate).
• Defra will begin development of ‘Best Available Technique’ reference documents for cattle
this year, which will form the basis for the extension of environmental permitting to dairy and
intensive beef by 2025.
• Defra will consult and legislate to require rapid incorporation of manure (ASAP), the use of
low emission spreaders (by 2025) and covering slurry stores (by 2027).
• Smoke Control Legislation to make it easier to Legislation to prohibit sales of most
polluting fuels - announcement due Summer 2019
• Changes to existing enforce (Environment Bill)
• Dedicated communications campaign to raise awareness of the issue (Oct 2019)
• New Ecodesign emissions standards will come in for all new stoves in 2022

13. Concentrations of air
pollutants: future target
setting

14. Clean Air Strategy – January 2019:
“We will progressively cut public exposure to particulate
matter pollution as suggested by the World
Health Organization.
“We will set a new, ambitious, long-term target to reduce
people’s exposure to PM2.5 and will publish evidence early in
2019 to examine what action would be needed to meet the
WHO annual mean guideline limit of 10 μg/m3 ”.
14

15. Fine Particulate Matter: PM 2.5
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16. Fine particulate matter concentrations: 2016 to 2030
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Indicative
Analysis
only
Indicative
Analysis
only

17. Source contributions to primary PM2.5 concentrations in 2030 based on an
emissions reduction scenario to meet UK ERCs: National.
AQEG meeting 13th Feb 2019 17

18. Source contributions to primary PM2.5 concentrations in 2030 based on an
emissions reduction scenario to meet UK ERCs for London.
18

19. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
MillionPeople
PMf Concentration threshold
WHO AQ Guideline
Population exposure to PM2.5
____ 2016
Reference: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-quality-assessing-progress-towards-who-guideline-levels-of-pm25-in-the-uk
Annex 1: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/825474/annex1-pm25-imperial-college-report.pdf

20. Population exposure to PM2.5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
MillionPeople
PMf Concentration threshold
____ 2016
____ 2030
WHO AQ Guideline
Reference: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-quality-assessing-progress-towards-who-guideline-levels-of-pm25-in-the-uk
Annex 1: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/825474/annex1-pm25-imperial-college-report.pdf

21. Assessing progress towards WHO guideline levels of PM2.5 in the UK
July 2019
“On the basis of scientific modelling, which has not considered full
economic viability and practical deliverability, we believe that, whilst
challenging, it would be technically feasible to meet the WHO guideline
level for PM2.5 across the UK in the future.
“Substantive further analysis is needed to understand what would be an
appropriate timescale and means, and we will work with a broad range of
experts, factoring in economic, social and technological feasibility to do
this.”
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22. Environment Bill
OFFICIAL - SENSITIVE 22
• There is already substantive primary legislation in place for air quality:
 The Environment Act sets up the local air quality management framework (amongst many
other things), including local government responsibilities to tackle air pollution
 The Clean Air Act enables local authorities to tackle smoke emissions from domestic and
commercial buildings.
• However these frameworks are out of date and are not functioning as they need to. In particular:
 Responsibility and accountability for tackling air quality is out of alignment with where powers
and levers to take effective action sit.
 The transboundary nature of air pollution is not recognised: action to improve air quality in one
local authority can have an impact (positive/negative) in a neighbouring area. How do we
ensure both neighbouring local authorities and public bodies work collaboratively to tackle the
problem of transboundary air pollution?
 The Clean Air Act is not well enforced. The existing legal framework does not drive action.
Compliance with maximum limits does not incentivise prevention.

23. Thank you