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IAQM responds to the draft Clean Air Strategy 2018
The IAQM has responded to Defra’s consultation on the draft Clean Air Strategy 2018, which was published on 22 May 2018.
After inviting member comments and submissions in response to the consultation questions, the IAQM committee has prepared a response. The submission welcomes the strategy, which has been called for by the IAQM for several years, and its ambition in considering air quality more broadly than is specifically required under the National Emissions Ceilings Directive. However, it also notes that more detail is required on many of the specific actions required to meet the Strategy’s stated aims. Furthermore, four major themes emerge from the detailed answers to the consultation questions provided, which the Government should seek to address in its response to this consultation:
- There is no over-arching vision of what needs to be done to improve air quality;
- The draft strategy does not show in quantitative terms how the strategy relates to other Government policies;
- The draft strategy is weak on regional and cross-boundary effects; and
- The draft strategy needs to give more consideration to the relationship between outdoor and indoor air quality.
The breadth of this draft strategy is encouraging, including as it does most of the emission sources for key pollutants, and highlighting contributions from agriculture and wood burning. We look forward to seeing further detail, including pathways to achieving the Strategy’s aspirations.