Early Careers Network

1. Prof. Duncan Laxen
Associate
Air Quality Management in
the UK

2. Aim of Presentation
 To provide context for AQM in practice
 Outline some challenges to keep AQ practitioners on
their toes

3. To be Effective - AQM requires
Scientific
Evidence
Political Will
Campaigns /
Lobbying
Legislation
Enforcement
Economic
Instruments
Public
Concern
Technology

4. Potted History of AQM 1950-2018
Smoke and
Sulphur
Dioxide
Acid Rain
Particulate
Matter
Lead
Carbon
Monoxide
Nitrogen
Dioxide
Ozone

5. Lead – (petrol additive)
• The essential steps:
 Scientific evidence of children’s IQs being impaired at low
levels of lead in blood – heavily disputed by the
establishment
 Campaign - CLEAR campaign for lead free air (Des Wilson)
during 1980s
 Lobbying – motor vehicle manufacturers argued so costly
people would stop buying cars
 Technology / legislative response – strongly linked to
introduction of catalysts that were poisoned by lead –
engines adjusted to work without leaded petrol
 Financial support – lead free petrol subsidised to encourage
use

6. Nitrogen Dioxide 1990s
• The essential steps:
 Scientific evidence – Concentrations high
due mainly to road traffic but first EU
standard was high. Evidence for chronic
effects – worsened asthma
 Campaign / Public concern - none specific
 Legislation / Enforcement – Euro standards
 Technology response – catalysts for petrol
cars
 Financial support – none
Complacency

7. What went wrong?
Measured NO2 1998-2010
• We knew around 2010 there was a problem,
long before the VW scandal
• Linked to growth of diesel cars
• Manufacturers legally cheated the system
• Real-world emissions of NOx and of primary
NO2 have been much higher than standards
for diesel lorries and buses and cars and vans
Lack of Proper Enforcement
Diesel Car Sales 2000-2016

8. Where are we now?
• The essential steps:
 Scientific evidence - Euro standards not delivering, and
now deaths attributable to nitrogen dioxide
 Campaign / Public concern – Political Will – ClientEarth
court cases + VW scandal – strong public concern –
political will?
 Legislation / Enforcement – Euro standards and better
tests – action now being required of local authorities
 Technology response – combination of EGR, SCR, Lean
NOx traps
 Financial support – Defra funding for local authorities for
CAZs

9. Will Plan deliver?
Euro Standards will help
 Euro 6/VI genuinely lower than Euro 5 (but Euro 6 is not one standard)
2015 - 2017 ‘New’ European Drive Cycle (NEDC)
2017 - 2020
World Light-duty Test
Cycle
Real Driving Emissions
(RDE) with Conformity
Factor of up to 2.1
2020 onward
World Light-duty Test
Cycle
RDE with Conformity Factor
of up to 1.5*
So what is a
Euro 6?
Euro 6dtemp
Euro 6d

10. Will Plan deliver?
Some Euro 6
dirtier than
some Euro 5

11. Will Plan deliver?
Public response will help
 Downturn in diesel sales

12. Challenges Ahead
 Political Will – how to handle pollutants with no safe level, i.e. NO2
and PM?
 Lobbying – will there be lobbying to tighten Objectives to WHO
levels?
 Enforcement – who will enforce without EU?
 Technology – will the technology deliver? Emission control – electric
vehicles?
 Scientific Evidence – will attention change to new pollutants?
 Scientific Evidence – will modelling improve to address street
canyons in a better way?
 Legislation – will there be a continuing focus on ecosystems outside
of EU? Should there be more focus on indoor air quality?

13. Final Messages
 Keep an open and enquiring mind
 Be prepared to adapt to change
 Challenge current orthodoxy – IAQM can be a vehicle to help
you do this
 Enjoy the challenges of being an air quality professional

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