The UK National Air Quality Strategy: the effects of the proposed changes on Local Air Quality Management

摘要

The UK has implemented a system of Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) to tackle the many contemporary sources of air pollution, notably transport, industry and domestic fuel burning, in a holistic manner. The current legislation stems from the Environment Act 1995, which required a National Air Quality Strategy (NAQS) to be published outlining the Governments policies with respect to the assessment and management of air quality. The NAQS, originally published in March 1997, is on a rolling programme of reviews in order to reflect developments in European legislation, technological and scientific advances, improved air pollution modelling techniques and an increasingly better understanding of the economic and social issues involved. Following the first review (currently at consultation stage), this paper will comment on how the proposed changes may affect the LAQM process. The proposed changes will also be summarised and discussed in the context of European Union air quality objectives and the economic analysis of NAQS.