Ammonia emissions have only fallen by 17 per cent in the past 40 years. Photo: © Brian Clifford / Shutterstock.com

UK air is cleaner but challenges remain

Policies to improve air quality in the UK over the past 40 years have led to significant reductions in pollution and associated mortality rates, a new study has found.

Research led by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology charted the levels of emissions of a variety of air pollutants in the UK between 1970 and 2010 – a period in which a raft of national and European legislation was introduced to tackle pollution. They found that over the 40-year period, total annual emissions of PM_2.5, NOx, SO₂ and NMVOCs in the UK all reduced substantially – by between 58 and 93 per cent. However, emissions of ammonia (NH₃) fell only by 17 per cent, and have even increased slightly in recent years.

As a result of emission reductions, mortality rates attributed to PM_2.5 and NO₂ (pollutants that increase the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases) declined by 56 and 44 per cent, respectively, in the UK over the 40-year period.

However, scientists involved in the research stress that tackling air pollution in the UK remains an ongoing challenge. NO₂ concentrations are still often above legal limits in many urban areas and levels of ammonia emissions are increasing.

Edward Carnell of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, lead author of the study, said: “Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of a series of policies at UK and European level since 1970 and this research supports policy-makers’ efforts to continue implementing much-needed measures to further improve air quality.”

Source: ScienceDaily, 26 June 1019. Link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190626124958.htm

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Main menu

UK air is cleaner but challenges remain

In this issue

The ten best climate measures

Editorial: The fossil fuel industry must be shut down

The Dutch nitrogen crisis

European transboundary air pollution is slowly shrinking

Global solar PV market set for dramatic growth over next 5 years

LNG no solution for truck emissions

Post-Euro 6 car emissions standards

The Cry of the Cryosphere

Modelling a shift to sustainable diets

Money quarrels delay a CAP with diluted climate ambition

Climate change threat to European farming

Deforestation must decrease by 95 per cent in a 1.5 °C world

Cutting air pollution will save lives

EU climate policies reviewed

40 years of partnership for clean air

World Energy Outlook faces increasing criticism

In Breif

EU Commission promotes air pollution benefits of climate policy

Stop EU fossil tax subsidies to shipping

Malaysia bans open-loop ship scrubbers

London’s ULEZ cuts NO2

Publications

Food for Thought

Northern forests, climate change and the UNFCCC

EU climate targets aligned with the Paris agreement’s 1.5°C objective

Baltic Sea Offshore Wind Collaborative-Learning project

Air pollution in Europe and children’s health

Climate Change: A Himalayan Odessey

No further discussion needed. The agreed global goal is to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C

Fossil-free electricity 2021

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