ii UK Focus Helping people see the invisible
The recent warning from The National Audit Offi ce was stark, existing policy measures will not be enough to meet most of the government’s air quality targets by 2030.
The problem remains that fi nding out about air quality problems in your area is not easy, and the government is not communicating effectively on the need for solutions such as charging polluting vehicles to drive in clean air zones.
Air pollution measurement instruments serve multiple purposes: publishing dust information online to update the public and issuing cautionary statements if required. Having this data in real-time can ensure that the right people act when increased levels are reported and control measures can be put in place and continuously evaluated.
Environmental monitoring and protecting against potentially dangerous conditions can be diffi cult to manage without reliable data streams and monitoring of a site perimeter that gathers environmental data. For this reason, more and more companies are turning to boundary monitoring technology to measure the level of risk and make sure they adhere to environmental limits and guidelines, while also protecting against health hazards.
Aside from being extremely detrimental to the human body, air pollution may also infl uence the ecosystem, causing phenomena such as acid rain and lower crop yields, as well as reproductive failure and illnesses in wildlife species.
The logical fi rst step toward resolving this air crisis would be to make much more real-time air quality data available to the general public and increase air quality data transparency, as well as initiatives to educate people on the long-term consequences of breathing in polluted air. People can take a variety of precautionary actions to safeguard themselves and others around them if they are aware of the severity of the pollution they are inhaling.
And that’s why the Umicore infrared fi lters are used by a selection of the industry’s major players. They move seamlessly from our state-of-the-art production facility in the UK, and into a range of ready-now technologies that are helping customers meet their health, safety and sustainability goals.
Author Contact Details Mark Naples, General Manager • Umicore Coating Services • Address: Kinnoull Street, Dundee, DD2 3ED, UK • Tel: +44 (0)1382 833022 • Email:
coatingservices@umicore.com• Web:
https://eom.umicore.com/en/infrared-solutions
TALKING POINT
Watchdogs challenge DEFRA over delaying air pollution targets
All told, we’ve had three diff erent Secretaries of State for Environment, Food and Rural Aff airs (DEFRA) this year – but there’s a worrying consistency to their approaches.
In March, under George Eustice, Boris Johnson’s appointment to the position, DEFRA announced an indefi nite delay to promised reforms regarding extended producer responsibility as part of the UK’s Resources and Waste Strategy – the fi rst update of Britain’s waste management system in a decade. The reforms were originally planned for introduction in 2023, but now it’s completely unclear what the timeline is going to be or when the Department will again raise the question. Similarly, when Ranil Jayawardena stepped up to the plate in early September, it took less than a week for a delay in the introduction of new checks on certain foodstuff s crossing the border to be announced. And now, Rishi Sunak PM’s pick for Secretary, Thérèse Coff ey, has announced perhaps the most consequential delay of this delay-fi lled year: there will be an indefi nite pause before the announcement of new air pollution targets (as well as those for water quality and biodiversity), a delay which breaches the Environment Act of 2021.
Many environmental pressure groups and watchdogs, including the RSPB, all of the Wildlife Trusts and the National Trust, have been unsparing in their criticism of this decision, with many emphasising the accumulation of indicators that DEFRA is constructing a culture of delay. For instance, Ruth Chambers of the Greener UK coalition told the Guardian that: “By missing this deadline the government is undermining its own fl agship legislation. We urge the new secretary of state to make this an urgent priority and set ambitious targets for restoring our natural environment.” Broadly, these organisations are united in the demand that this delay in publication be used to draw up a stronger set of targets in
time for the UN’s Biodiversity Conference in December.
Most importantly, though, the Chair of the Offi ce for Environmental Protection (OEP), Dame Glenys Stacey, has expressed severe concern over the delay, and has been holding talks with the Secretary on the matter. The OEP is licensed to launch investigations into government action in the interest of mounting a legal challenge, if necessary. Reportedly, the Dame has warned Coff ey that the possibility of pursuing such a course was being kept under active review.
Set up prior to the delay, the meeting aimed initially to consider the strengthening of the proposed targets, an improvement for which many environmentalists had been lobbying. “The targets proposed earlier this year,” wrote Stacey in a letter to Coff ey, “are welcome in many respects. “There is room for improvement, however, and a chance, still, to present a suitably ambitious and comprehensive suite of targets.” Nevertheless, whatever the targets may be, Stacey emphasised that it is imperative that environmental targets be in place by the end of the year: “Further delay risks unduly the implementation of important environmental policies so much needed to fulfi l government’s commitments to environmental protection.”
As Stacey approaches her conclusion, the tone darkens: “We remain concerned that there is a pattern of missing legislative deadlines. It is in this context, and the signifi cance of the failure to comply with landmark domestic legislation, that we will keep our decisions on the use of any formal enforcement powers under active review as you progress your work now.” Unfortunately, then, Therese Coff ey may pay the price for the failures of her predecessors and the generalised political upheaval of this year, yet it is clear that some action must be taken to reverse a dangerous trend of inaction.
IET NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2022
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