At the 2014 annual Dispersion Modellers user group meeting guest speaker Michael Bull spoke on the topic: 'Observed variations between models for cumulative impact assessment'
Summary report on YoungProfsNet's first learning project to Review and evaluation of environmental impact assessment reports for petrol station projects in Kenya
This document summarizes an evaluation of social innovation outcomes from England's 2007-2013 Rural Development Programme. It assessed Axes 1 (agricultural modernization) and 3 (improving rural services and quality of life). The evaluation used case studies across 3 regions, interviews with 196 beneficiaries and stakeholders, and social return on investment analysis to monetize impacts over 5 years. It found total social innovation benefits of £170-238 million, with the highest outcomes in individual, operational and relational scales from measures like enterprise support, technological change and service delivery. Issues discussed include potential lack of validity in extrapolating localized results nationally, missing data on some relationship and catalytic impacts, and timing effects on capturing benefits.
Monitoring and Evaluation System for Adaptation ProjectsNAP Events
Presented by: Cecilia Silva Bernardo
8.3 Monitoring and evaluation
The session will provide details on: the tool developed by the LEG for monitoring and evaluating progress, effectiveness and gaps (PEG M&E tool) and its application in the process to formulate and implement NAPs; and the best practices for developing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems for adaptation at the national level. It will also look at the experiences of countries in developing and applying M&E systems at their national levels.
Thank you for the presentation. Integrating process and impact evaluations can provide actionable recommendations to improve energy efficiency programs.
1) Member states in the Arab region aim to achieve comprehensive national energy savings targets by 2020 through implementing energy efficiency measures and developing national energy efficiency action plans.
2) Each member state will assign a body to oversee the development and implementation of its national energy efficiency action plan and submit reports on energy savings achieved.
3) National energy efficiency action plans will be prepared for three year periods with annual reviews to ensure targets are met, and new plans developed before previous ones expire.
Breakout session 4. Get Warm Soon, survey of Health and Wellbeing Boards action on cold related ill health and County Durham’s response to NICE guidance
• Jamie Rose, National Energy Action
• Tim Wright, Durham County Council
The document discusses performance indicators for international waters programs. It outlines four levels of indicators: coverage, process, stress reduction, and environmental status. Implementation indicators measure project progress, while impact indicators measure actual effects. Baselines are important for measuring degree of change. Coverage indicators reflect program scope. Process indicators measure government actions and quality. Stress reduction indicators track reductions in threatening human activities. Environmental status indicators are difficult to apply consistently across projects. Data on indicators can be aggregated and compared in various ways.
The document discusses performance improvement strategies used by communities to end homelessness. It provides details about how Alameda County, California and the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro area developed systems of mutual accountability among agencies. Both areas instituted coordinated intake and assessment processes along with performance measurement to improve housing outcomes and efficiently target resources.
Summary report on YoungProfsNet's first learning project to Review and evaluation of environmental impact assessment reports for petrol station projects in Kenya
This document summarizes an evaluation of social innovation outcomes from England's 2007-2013 Rural Development Programme. It assessed Axes 1 (agricultural modernization) and 3 (improving rural services and quality of life). The evaluation used case studies across 3 regions, interviews with 196 beneficiaries and stakeholders, and social return on investment analysis to monetize impacts over 5 years. It found total social innovation benefits of £170-238 million, with the highest outcomes in individual, operational and relational scales from measures like enterprise support, technological change and service delivery. Issues discussed include potential lack of validity in extrapolating localized results nationally, missing data on some relationship and catalytic impacts, and timing effects on capturing benefits.
Monitoring and Evaluation System for Adaptation ProjectsNAP Events
Presented by: Cecilia Silva Bernardo
8.3 Monitoring and evaluation
The session will provide details on: the tool developed by the LEG for monitoring and evaluating progress, effectiveness and gaps (PEG M&E tool) and its application in the process to formulate and implement NAPs; and the best practices for developing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems for adaptation at the national level. It will also look at the experiences of countries in developing and applying M&E systems at their national levels.
Thank you for the presentation. Integrating process and impact evaluations can provide actionable recommendations to improve energy efficiency programs.
1) Member states in the Arab region aim to achieve comprehensive national energy savings targets by 2020 through implementing energy efficiency measures and developing national energy efficiency action plans.
2) Each member state will assign a body to oversee the development and implementation of its national energy efficiency action plan and submit reports on energy savings achieved.
3) National energy efficiency action plans will be prepared for three year periods with annual reviews to ensure targets are met, and new plans developed before previous ones expire.
Breakout session 4. Get Warm Soon, survey of Health and Wellbeing Boards action on cold related ill health and County Durham’s response to NICE guidance
• Jamie Rose, National Energy Action
• Tim Wright, Durham County Council
The document discusses performance indicators for international waters programs. It outlines four levels of indicators: coverage, process, stress reduction, and environmental status. Implementation indicators measure project progress, while impact indicators measure actual effects. Baselines are important for measuring degree of change. Coverage indicators reflect program scope. Process indicators measure government actions and quality. Stress reduction indicators track reductions in threatening human activities. Environmental status indicators are difficult to apply consistently across projects. Data on indicators can be aggregated and compared in various ways.
The document discusses performance improvement strategies used by communities to end homelessness. It provides details about how Alameda County, California and the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro area developed systems of mutual accountability among agencies. Both areas instituted coordinated intake and assessment processes along with performance measurement to improve housing outcomes and efficiently target resources.
Data & Sustainability: How the Right Data Creates SuccessSightlines
Many sustainability officers are stretched thin by their duties, which includes a heavy workload of measuring and reporting data, both internally and externally. Despite this potential drawback, data is not the enemy of sustainability leaders. In fact, data and sustainability can go hand-in-hand as you build your case and outline opportunities for future improvements.
In this presentation, you'll learn:
- How data can help you overcome industry trends and make a difference on campus
- Ways data can build constituency around sustainability goals
- The value of verified data & peer context
- How reporting burdens can be eased
This document discusses environmental impact assessments (EIAs). It provides an overview of the EIA process, including its objectives, key principles, steps, and definitions. The main points are:
1) The EIA process identifies and assesses potential environmental impacts of projects to inform decision making and encourage environmentally positive outcomes.
2) Key steps include screening, scoping, impact prediction and mitigation planning, management and monitoring, and auditing.
3) The overall goals of EIA are to assist with project planning, ensure sound environmental implementation, and provide management information for monitoring impacts.
Successfully Achieving And Delivering ResultsThrough Rigorous Project Select...shawncarner
This document discusses the need for rigorous project prioritization tools and processes at Genentech and provides examples of project prioritization approaches used at different sites within Genentech. It highlights the benefits of standardized, transparent prioritization processes, including better use of resources, managing change capacity, and increased understanding and quantification of project impacts. Examples of prioritization tools and processes currently used at different sites are presented, along with next steps to further improve and standardize prioritization across sites.
This document discusses using multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to help address challenges in developing climate policy given multiple objectives. MCDA can help make the decision process more transparent, allow both quantitative and qualitative criteria to be considered equally, and explore trade-offs in a structured way. While time consuming, MCDA has been used in some countries' climate policy work to analyze mitigation options across criteria like jobs and economic impacts. The document concludes that MCDA approaches require resources but can engage stakeholders and incorporate multiple development objectives into climate policy decisions if done properly.
The document discusses the environmental impact of software testing and approaches to reduce it. It notes that ineffective testing wastes resources and impacts the environment. It provides examples of how poorly defined roles and lack of processes led to wasted CPU usage and unnecessary test environments at one company. Finally, it outlines reasons for testing teams to adopt green practices like minimizing travel, using electronic documentation, and reusing test environments to realize financial and environmental benefits.
Case studies: multi criteria decision analysis of the cooking and buildings s...Centre for Policy Research
Collaboration between CPR and Prayas(Energy Group) with input from ERC. Presentation on case studies: multi criteria decision analysis of the cooking and buildings sector by Shrihari Dukkipati, Radhika Khosla and Ashok Sreenivas
Training on Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) of Adaptation and the NAP processNAP Events
Presented by: Timo Leiter & Julia Olivier
3c. Developing (sub)national adaptation M&E systems
Participants will be taken through a short training course on the basic steps of developing a national adaptation M&E system with specific reference to the process to formulate and implement NAPs. The training will be based on the guidebook “Developing national adaptation M&E systems” developed by GIZ in collaboration with the LEG and the Adaptation Committee.
This document provides an overview and summary of updates to Highways England guidance on air quality assessments, best practices for DMRB air quality assessments, and a new DMRB air quality model tool. Key points include: Highways England guidance has been updated to be more risk-based and emphasize early collaboration, monitoring, and mitigation; best practices for assessments include ensuring appropriate traffic and monitoring data and temporal emissions profiles in modeling; and the new DMRB tool allows for more detailed traffic and meteorological inputs and a GIS interface for roads and receptors.
DMUG 2016 - Scott Hamilton, Ricardo Energy & EnvironmentIES / IAQM
This presentation discusses using the CALPUFF model to assess odour impacts from a manufacturing facility. It describes the methodology used, which included modeling meteorology with WRF and CALMET, running CALPUFF simulations for different stack parameters, and comparing results to a Warren Springs model. The modeling showed that increasing the stack height from 14m to 30m significantly reduced odor concentrations on and near the site. A design value of 60,000 odor units per second was estimated to prevent complaints at nearby properties. The agreement between modeled and measured meteorology was good.
The document discusses developments in ADMS modeling of building wake effects on dispersion. ADMS modeling of building wakes includes dividing the area into regions of recirculating flow, wake, upwind, and external flow. Validation studies using the Thompson wind tunnel experiments and Prudhoe Bay field measurements show generally good agreement, though the model may underestimate the transverse extent of building-induced turbulence in very stable conditions. Further work is needed to improve modeling of vertical mixing above wakes and near recirculating regions, and to account for turbulence generated by nearby buildings.
Ben Marner - AQC - Treatment of Small CHP Plant and Short-term Use Diesel G...IES / IAQM
Small CHP plants and short-term use diesel generators can have significant air quality impacts despite being screened out under current guidance. For small CHP plants, a suggested criteria is to assess plants over 15kW output. A tighter dispersion criteria is also proposed but may be difficult to define. Case studies show a micro CHP adding 0.7 μg/m3 of NO2 annually and backup diesel generators testing for 12 hours per year potentially causing NOx increases of over 13 mg/m3. The presentation calls for more stringent CHP criteria and encouraging robust assessments of diesel generators, including routine testing in assessments and addressing them in construction phase assessments.
This document discusses simulations of diesel generator exhaust plumes near a high-rise building. Initial simulations found plumes could enter nearby air handling units. Later simulations examined plume impacts on building materials and a maintenance unit. Measurements of real plumes found model inaccuracies in near-field plume behavior. Solutions considered positioning exhaust stacks to minimize heat impacts while meeting space constraints. The final solution was a compromise flue location balancing dispersion and maintenance unit operation.
DMUG 2016 - Aidan Farrow, University of HertfordshireIES / IAQM
This document discusses using mesoscale models to forecast air quality in cities. It describes a modeling system that combines regional, national scale models with local scale city models. The system provides 72-hour air quality forecasts for cities. It is being applied in collaboration with local authorities in cities like Bristol and Manchester to provide spatial air quality data and forecasts to support public health, transportation, and environmental management. The collaboration aims to maximize the usefulness of regional air quality modeling for local decision-making.
DMUG 2016 - Dr Ben Marner, Air Quality ConsultantIES / IAQM
The document presents results from real-world emissions tests of modern diesel vehicles. It finds that Euro 6 diesel cars emit significantly higher NOx than regulatory tests suggest, with a weighted average conformity factor of 5 across multiple studies. For heavy diesel vehicles, measurements show substantial reductions from Euro V to Euro VI standards of around 80%, but little improvement from Euro III to V. The document advocates uplifting older heavy vehicle standards to match Euro III levels and adjusting Euro VI standards to represent a 20% reduction from Euro III levels.
At the 2014 annual Dispersion Modellers user group meeting guest speaker Martin Seaton spoke on the topic: 'Advances in the treatment of street canyons and urban canopy flow in ADMS-Urban and ADMS-Roads'
Quantification of the Air Quality Impacts - Ben MarnerIES / IAQM
This document discusses quantifying air quality impacts on sensitive habitats. It outlines typical pollutants of concern like NOx, NH3, and SO2 and assessment criteria including critical levels and critical loads. It describes background data sources for pollutant concentrations and fluxes. It explains that near-source impacts are underestimated if only using background data and that monitoring and modeling are needed. It provides example values for deposition velocities and notes factors usually omitted from deposition calculations. Finally, it outlines three potential outcomes for assessments: no significant effects, potential effects cannot be discounted, or impacts are less than 1% of critical level/load (no significant effects).
DMUG 2016 - Prof. Alan Robins, University of SurreyIES / IAQM
The document summarizes the role of physical modeling of atmospheric dispersion using wind tunnels. It discusses how wind tunnels are used to educate, provide data, and develop knowledge to solve practical dispersion questions. Specific topics studied using wind tunnels include basic dispersion processes, plume rise, building effects, dense gas dispersion, and urban boundary layers. Examples provided show simulations of plumes interacting with buildings, leaks from chemical plants, urban dispersion through street networks, and dense gas dispersion in urban areas. Wind tunnels are found to be a proven technology for atmospheric dispersion research when used alone or in conjunction with models.
Ecological Assessment: Is there a need for guidance? - James RileyIES / IAQM
The document discusses the need for improved guidance for ecologists conducting assessments of air quality impacts. Currently, guidance focuses mainly on calculations relative to critical thresholds but does not provide enough information for habitats without critical loads or for specific issues like acid deposition. This often leads ecologists, who generally lack air quality training, to make overly conservative conclusions. The document proposes that new guidance provide more clarity on topics like the meaning of exceedance thresholds, reliability of critical loads, habitat response curves, and published research on the level of deposition increase corresponding to ecological changes for different habitats. Example assessments are given to demonstrate how considerations of background rates, management practices, and other factors can allow ecologists to determine that exceedances do not necessarily result in adverse effects
At the 2014 annual Dispersion Modellers user group meeting guest speaker Sean Beevers spoke on the topic: 'Update on progress with the development of a hybrid personal exposure model'
Mitigating operational impacts of developments - Stephen InchIES / IAQM
The document discusses approaches to mitigating the operational impacts of new developments on air quality. It notes that developments can increase air pollution emissions, concentrations, and exposure. Both on-site and off-site mitigation measures are discussed. The document advocates for preventative and reduction measures to be designed into projects from the beginning through collaboration between assessment and design teams. It provides examples of both ineffective and more promising mitigation solutions. Lessons from audits of schools highlight the importance of understanding local context to identify effective, tailored mitigation measures.
Data & Sustainability: How the Right Data Creates SuccessSightlines
Many sustainability officers are stretched thin by their duties, which includes a heavy workload of measuring and reporting data, both internally and externally. Despite this potential drawback, data is not the enemy of sustainability leaders. In fact, data and sustainability can go hand-in-hand as you build your case and outline opportunities for future improvements.
In this presentation, you'll learn:
- How data can help you overcome industry trends and make a difference on campus
- Ways data can build constituency around sustainability goals
- The value of verified data & peer context
- How reporting burdens can be eased
This document discusses environmental impact assessments (EIAs). It provides an overview of the EIA process, including its objectives, key principles, steps, and definitions. The main points are:
1) The EIA process identifies and assesses potential environmental impacts of projects to inform decision making and encourage environmentally positive outcomes.
2) Key steps include screening, scoping, impact prediction and mitigation planning, management and monitoring, and auditing.
3) The overall goals of EIA are to assist with project planning, ensure sound environmental implementation, and provide management information for monitoring impacts.
Successfully Achieving And Delivering ResultsThrough Rigorous Project Select...shawncarner
This document discusses the need for rigorous project prioritization tools and processes at Genentech and provides examples of project prioritization approaches used at different sites within Genentech. It highlights the benefits of standardized, transparent prioritization processes, including better use of resources, managing change capacity, and increased understanding and quantification of project impacts. Examples of prioritization tools and processes currently used at different sites are presented, along with next steps to further improve and standardize prioritization across sites.
This document discusses using multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to help address challenges in developing climate policy given multiple objectives. MCDA can help make the decision process more transparent, allow both quantitative and qualitative criteria to be considered equally, and explore trade-offs in a structured way. While time consuming, MCDA has been used in some countries' climate policy work to analyze mitigation options across criteria like jobs and economic impacts. The document concludes that MCDA approaches require resources but can engage stakeholders and incorporate multiple development objectives into climate policy decisions if done properly.
The document discusses the environmental impact of software testing and approaches to reduce it. It notes that ineffective testing wastes resources and impacts the environment. It provides examples of how poorly defined roles and lack of processes led to wasted CPU usage and unnecessary test environments at one company. Finally, it outlines reasons for testing teams to adopt green practices like minimizing travel, using electronic documentation, and reusing test environments to realize financial and environmental benefits.
Case studies: multi criteria decision analysis of the cooking and buildings s...Centre for Policy Research
Collaboration between CPR and Prayas(Energy Group) with input from ERC. Presentation on case studies: multi criteria decision analysis of the cooking and buildings sector by Shrihari Dukkipati, Radhika Khosla and Ashok Sreenivas
Training on Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) of Adaptation and the NAP processNAP Events
Presented by: Timo Leiter & Julia Olivier
3c. Developing (sub)national adaptation M&E systems
Participants will be taken through a short training course on the basic steps of developing a national adaptation M&E system with specific reference to the process to formulate and implement NAPs. The training will be based on the guidebook “Developing national adaptation M&E systems” developed by GIZ in collaboration with the LEG and the Adaptation Committee.
This document provides an overview and summary of updates to Highways England guidance on air quality assessments, best practices for DMRB air quality assessments, and a new DMRB air quality model tool. Key points include: Highways England guidance has been updated to be more risk-based and emphasize early collaboration, monitoring, and mitigation; best practices for assessments include ensuring appropriate traffic and monitoring data and temporal emissions profiles in modeling; and the new DMRB tool allows for more detailed traffic and meteorological inputs and a GIS interface for roads and receptors.
DMUG 2016 - Scott Hamilton, Ricardo Energy & EnvironmentIES / IAQM
This presentation discusses using the CALPUFF model to assess odour impacts from a manufacturing facility. It describes the methodology used, which included modeling meteorology with WRF and CALMET, running CALPUFF simulations for different stack parameters, and comparing results to a Warren Springs model. The modeling showed that increasing the stack height from 14m to 30m significantly reduced odor concentrations on and near the site. A design value of 60,000 odor units per second was estimated to prevent complaints at nearby properties. The agreement between modeled and measured meteorology was good.
The document discusses developments in ADMS modeling of building wake effects on dispersion. ADMS modeling of building wakes includes dividing the area into regions of recirculating flow, wake, upwind, and external flow. Validation studies using the Thompson wind tunnel experiments and Prudhoe Bay field measurements show generally good agreement, though the model may underestimate the transverse extent of building-induced turbulence in very stable conditions. Further work is needed to improve modeling of vertical mixing above wakes and near recirculating regions, and to account for turbulence generated by nearby buildings.
Ben Marner - AQC - Treatment of Small CHP Plant and Short-term Use Diesel G...IES / IAQM
Small CHP plants and short-term use diesel generators can have significant air quality impacts despite being screened out under current guidance. For small CHP plants, a suggested criteria is to assess plants over 15kW output. A tighter dispersion criteria is also proposed but may be difficult to define. Case studies show a micro CHP adding 0.7 μg/m3 of NO2 annually and backup diesel generators testing for 12 hours per year potentially causing NOx increases of over 13 mg/m3. The presentation calls for more stringent CHP criteria and encouraging robust assessments of diesel generators, including routine testing in assessments and addressing them in construction phase assessments.
This document discusses simulations of diesel generator exhaust plumes near a high-rise building. Initial simulations found plumes could enter nearby air handling units. Later simulations examined plume impacts on building materials and a maintenance unit. Measurements of real plumes found model inaccuracies in near-field plume behavior. Solutions considered positioning exhaust stacks to minimize heat impacts while meeting space constraints. The final solution was a compromise flue location balancing dispersion and maintenance unit operation.
DMUG 2016 - Aidan Farrow, University of HertfordshireIES / IAQM
This document discusses using mesoscale models to forecast air quality in cities. It describes a modeling system that combines regional, national scale models with local scale city models. The system provides 72-hour air quality forecasts for cities. It is being applied in collaboration with local authorities in cities like Bristol and Manchester to provide spatial air quality data and forecasts to support public health, transportation, and environmental management. The collaboration aims to maximize the usefulness of regional air quality modeling for local decision-making.
DMUG 2016 - Dr Ben Marner, Air Quality ConsultantIES / IAQM
The document presents results from real-world emissions tests of modern diesel vehicles. It finds that Euro 6 diesel cars emit significantly higher NOx than regulatory tests suggest, with a weighted average conformity factor of 5 across multiple studies. For heavy diesel vehicles, measurements show substantial reductions from Euro V to Euro VI standards of around 80%, but little improvement from Euro III to V. The document advocates uplifting older heavy vehicle standards to match Euro III levels and adjusting Euro VI standards to represent a 20% reduction from Euro III levels.
At the 2014 annual Dispersion Modellers user group meeting guest speaker Martin Seaton spoke on the topic: 'Advances in the treatment of street canyons and urban canopy flow in ADMS-Urban and ADMS-Roads'
Quantification of the Air Quality Impacts - Ben MarnerIES / IAQM
This document discusses quantifying air quality impacts on sensitive habitats. It outlines typical pollutants of concern like NOx, NH3, and SO2 and assessment criteria including critical levels and critical loads. It describes background data sources for pollutant concentrations and fluxes. It explains that near-source impacts are underestimated if only using background data and that monitoring and modeling are needed. It provides example values for deposition velocities and notes factors usually omitted from deposition calculations. Finally, it outlines three potential outcomes for assessments: no significant effects, potential effects cannot be discounted, or impacts are less than 1% of critical level/load (no significant effects).
DMUG 2016 - Prof. Alan Robins, University of SurreyIES / IAQM
The document summarizes the role of physical modeling of atmospheric dispersion using wind tunnels. It discusses how wind tunnels are used to educate, provide data, and develop knowledge to solve practical dispersion questions. Specific topics studied using wind tunnels include basic dispersion processes, plume rise, building effects, dense gas dispersion, and urban boundary layers. Examples provided show simulations of plumes interacting with buildings, leaks from chemical plants, urban dispersion through street networks, and dense gas dispersion in urban areas. Wind tunnels are found to be a proven technology for atmospheric dispersion research when used alone or in conjunction with models.
Ecological Assessment: Is there a need for guidance? - James RileyIES / IAQM
The document discusses the need for improved guidance for ecologists conducting assessments of air quality impacts. Currently, guidance focuses mainly on calculations relative to critical thresholds but does not provide enough information for habitats without critical loads or for specific issues like acid deposition. This often leads ecologists, who generally lack air quality training, to make overly conservative conclusions. The document proposes that new guidance provide more clarity on topics like the meaning of exceedance thresholds, reliability of critical loads, habitat response curves, and published research on the level of deposition increase corresponding to ecological changes for different habitats. Example assessments are given to demonstrate how considerations of background rates, management practices, and other factors can allow ecologists to determine that exceedances do not necessarily result in adverse effects
At the 2014 annual Dispersion Modellers user group meeting guest speaker Sean Beevers spoke on the topic: 'Update on progress with the development of a hybrid personal exposure model'
Mitigating operational impacts of developments - Stephen InchIES / IAQM
The document discusses approaches to mitigating the operational impacts of new developments on air quality. It notes that developments can increase air pollution emissions, concentrations, and exposure. Both on-site and off-site mitigation measures are discussed. The document advocates for preventative and reduction measures to be designed into projects from the beginning through collaboration between assessment and design teams. It provides examples of both ineffective and more promising mitigation solutions. Lessons from audits of schools highlight the importance of understanding local context to identify effective, tailored mitigation measures.
Mitigation of development air quality impacts – The IAQM's position - Fiona P...IES / IAQM
The document discusses the IAQM's position statement on mitigating air quality impacts from development. It provides context on what position statements are and how they are developed by the IAQM. It then details the IAQM's position that appropriate mitigation for a development's operational air quality impacts should follow a hierarchy of prevention/avoidance, reduction/minimization, and offsetting as a last resort. The position statement provides an example of applying this hierarchy to the redevelopment of an existing business park in London.
This document outlines the steps and considerations for multi-criteria analysis (MCA), a technique used to evaluate environmental investment options against multiple decision criteria. It discusses establishing objectives, identifying options, defining measurable criteria, scoring options' performance on criteria, assigning weights to criteria based on importance, and combining scores and weights to rank options. The document provides an example of how MCA can be applied to score and rank municipal wastewater projects based on criteria like project impact, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness. MCA aims to make the decision-making process more transparent and open to analysis, though it does not remove subjective judgments.
The document provides an overview of environmental impact assessment (EIA). It defines EIA as assessing the effects of proposed projects on the environment. EIA identifies alternatives and aims to balance economic and environmental costs and benefits. It integrates environmental concerns early in project planning. EIA started as a mandatory regulatory process in the US in 1969 and is now required in over 100 countries. The key stages of EIA are screening, scoping, baseline data collection, impact analysis, mitigation planning, public hearings, decision making, and monitoring. EIA aims to be fair, provide credible information for decisions, and ensure sustainability.
OECD presentation "Strengthening climate and environmental considerations in infrastructure and budget appraisal tools"
by Margaux Lelong and Ana Maria Ruiz during the 9th Meeting of the OECD Paris Collaborative on Green Budgeting held on 17 and 18 of April 2023 in Paris.
Roger Barrowcliffe - The Guidance Document - Thoughts and FeedbackIES / IAQM
This document outlines the history and objectives of developing guidance on assessing the impact of proposed developments on local air quality. It provides an overview of the structure and assessment procedure outlined in the guidance, including screening for assessment, undertaking an assessment, determining if the overall impact is significant, and identifying if mitigation is required. The document also notes some important exclusions to the guidance and issues that were raised regarding impact descriptors and determining overall significance.
RPN 2022 Manila: Session 3.6 Ken Cleary Dep Public Reform and Expenditure Ire...OECD Environment
This presentation was delivered during the 6th Meeting of the OECD Southeast Asia Regional Programme’s Regional Policy Network on Sustainable Infrastructure, which took place on 25-26 April 2022 in Manila, the Philippines. The OECD’s Public Governance Directorate and Environment Directorate teamed up with the OECD Korea Policy Centre to organise the event. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) of the Philippines co-chaired the event alongside the United States, and the Public Private Partnership Centre of the Philippines graciously provided the venue. For more details about the meeting, including the agenda and a short summary record, please visit: https://www.oecd.org/site/sipa/events/sipa-searp-philippines-2022.htm.
This chapter describes some of the simplest techniques and methods for EIA, and gives information to
help choose the most appropriate method for a given situation.
This presentation provides an overview of air quality assessment in the context of highways schemes and the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB). It introduces Mouchel's air quality team and the DMRB assessment process, which includes scoping, simple, and detailed assessments. It emphasizes the importance of early engagement with the air quality team on traffic data collection and modeling. The presentation highlights key pollutants of concern, exposure periods, and the need to avoid worsening air quality if exceedances of limits are identified. It provides contact details for Mouchel's air quality experts.
Parallel Session IVb: Identification and financing of green projects: is climate change budget tagging the panacea for enticing climate finance and reducing GHG emissions in developing countries?
The document outlines the steps involved in an environmental impact assessment (EIA) process. It begins with screening and scoping to determine if an EIA is required and define the scope. This is followed by baseline studies, impact prediction, assessment and mitigation measures. The EIA report is produced and public hearings are held before a decision is made. Environmental management plans are implemented and impacts are monitored. The key components of an EIA include air, noise, water, biological and land environments. Stakeholders include project proponents, consultants, regulatory agencies and the public. Benefits include sustainable development and mitigation of impacts.
The document outlines the steps involved in an environmental impact assessment (EIA) process. It begins with screening and scoping to determine if a formal EIA is required. Baseline studies are then conducted, followed by impact prediction and assessment. Mitigation measures are proposed, and an environmental management plan is produced along with public hearings and monitoring. Key components of an EIA include assessing impacts to air, noise, water, biological and land environments. Challenges include projects exempted from EIAs and quality issues with reports and expert committees. Overall, EIAs aim to link environment and development but can be undermined by various stakeholders.
Clear Air Zones – What are Local Authorities Proposing? - Nigel BellamyIES / IAQM
The document summarizes progress on Clean Air Zones in the UK. It outlines that the UK has been in breach of legal limits for nitrogen dioxide and discusses the need for immediate action to improve air quality and health. It defines Clean Air Zones as areas with restrictions on certain vehicles to encourage cleaner vehicles. Authorities need to develop local plans with measures to achieve compliance, which requires modeling emissions and impacts. Options being considered by authorities include charges for different vehicle types in Clean Air Zones of varying sizes and stringency. Authorities are at different stages with some publishing initial plans focusing on buses, taxis, HGVs or LGVs. The overall progress aims to achieve compliance with legal limits as soon as possible to reduce human exposure
This document discusses building a sustainability plan that lasts. It covers key drivers of sustainability like regulatory requirements and public pressure. It outlines Canada's regulatory status around greenhouse gas emissions, which is inconsistent across provinces. It discusses guidance documents for sustainability planning and reporting. It explains the five milestones for climate change protection established by Partners for Climate Protection: creating an emissions inventory, setting reduction targets, developing an action plan, implementing the plan, and monitoring progress. Key performance indicators for sustainability are also reviewed. The importance of achieving stakeholder support is emphasized through communication and consensus building.
STEP Conference 2019 - Cleaner Air for Scotland ReviewSTEP_scotland
The Cleaner Air for Scotland strategy review made several key conclusions and recommendations:
1) While Scotland has good air quality by EU standards, additional action is needed as health impacts are better understood. Air pollution and climate issues are interconnected.
2) The strategy's structure was complex and implementation uneven; the new strategy needs a simpler governance structure and clearer accountability.
3) A wider range of emission sources beyond transport must be addressed, including domestic burning and agriculture.
4) The recommendations include developing integrated thematic strategies, ensuring new developments don't worsen air quality, improving behavior change programs, and strengthening environmental regulations.
16.00 Addressing Air Pollution in Net Zero work.pdfIES / IAQM
Sarah Legge discussed addressing air quality considerations in net zero plans and projects. Major technological changes to reduce fossil fuel use and a more urbanized lifestyle will impact air quality. New policies require addressing particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions. Designing long-term plans should consider potential air quality benefits and risks of climate measures. Short-term opportunities exist to optimize actions that reduce both emissions and air pollution during the transition to net zero. Guidance is being updated to help local authorities better integrate air quality and climate action planning.
Outdoor air quality and health: Evidence to action - Karen ExleyIES / IAQM
The document discusses work by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Public Health England (PHE) on outdoor air quality and health. It outlines NICE's role in developing guidelines and quality standards on outdoor air pollution. It summarizes NICE's 2017 guideline on reducing health impacts of road traffic air pollution and its 2019 quality standard containing priority statements. It then discusses PHE's review of interventions to improve air quality and public health, identifying promising options like planning green infrastructure, subsidizing public transit, and behavioral programs. The document recommends a holistic approach targeting multiple pollutants and domains through evaluated interventions to maximize health benefits.
Regulatory Approach in Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control for EIA ProjectDrAbdulRahmanMahmud
This document discusses regulatory approaches for soil erosion and sedimentation control in environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for projects in Malaysia. It outlines the core elements of EIAs, including existing environment studies, impact assessment, mitigation measures, and monitoring. It also discusses indicators of EIA effectiveness, such as the quality of EIA reports, implementation of effective mitigation measures, and capacity building. Finally, it proposes a successful regulatory approach involving strategic planning, improving EIA report guidelines, strengthening EIA approval conditions, promoting self-regulation and training to enhance soil erosion and sedimentation control in the EIA process.
Land remediation and conservation - the interaction of regulatory regimesIES / IAQM
This document discusses biodiversity and land remediation. It begins by defining biodiversity and listing various protected species. It then discusses policies and frameworks related to enhancing biodiversity and remediating contaminated land from documents like the NPPF, Environment Act 2021, and reports from the House of Lords. Key points addressed include biodiversity net gain, habitat assessments, balancing development with environmental protection, and ensuring adequate resources for regulatory bodies.
A Contractor’s Perspective on Redeveloping Historical LandfillsIES / IAQM
Andy O'Dea, Technical Director of Cognition Land and Water, discusses challenges with redeveloping historical landfills. Key challenges include overly complex waste regulation, the unsuitability of using the Definition of Waste Code of Practice (DoWCoP) for landfill restoration projects, and lack of clear guidance. Through project examples, O'Dea illustrates how using DoWCoP previously allowed sustainable reuse of soils but the revised agency position now prohibits this for landfilled materials. He calls for pragmatic solutions like a new recovery permit to better facilitate sustainable management and reuse of surplus soils from construction projects.
Sharing is Caring – Can cross industry collaboration be achieved on key envir...IES / IAQM
Sharing is Caring – Can cross industry collaboration be achieved on key environmental topics?
Rebecca Hearn, Director, Midland Lands Events: MidLE
mental topics?
The document outlines the evolution of the three pillars of sustainable development - society, economy, and environment - through different eras from hunter-gathering to modern times. It shows how societies and economies developed based on agriculture, then industry, and now a global digital economy, and how each transition impacted the environment. The conclusion suggests that for the future, we need an integrated economy, society, and consideration for the global environment.
16.00 Updates to CURED and CREAM Emissions Models.pdfIES / IAQM
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- For CURED, the updates include incorporating projections of electric vehicle uptake from the Transport Analysis Guidance, and a new approach for calculating non-exhaust PM emissions. Comparisons show CURED estimates of NOx and PM emissions are slightly lower than the Emissions Factors Toolkit.
- For CREAM, updates include incorporating the same electric vehicle projections as CURED and updated ammonia emission factors. Comparisons show higher estimated ammonia emissions than the previous version, especially with inclusion of cold starts.
15.30 Reducing Construction Emissions.pdfIES / IAQM
This document discusses reducing construction emissions through partnerships and tools. It introduces a partnership with Impact on Urban Health to identify exemplar construction sites and develop an emissions tool. The tool calculates emissions from non-road mobile machinery and compares scenarios to benchmarks. The tool was updated to include carbon calculations and additional fuels. Next steps include sharing the tool widely and updating it with real-world emissions data. The tool helps plan equipment use and evaluate policies but has limitations in fully capturing alternative fuel emissions.
15.30 Ethical considerations when determining air quality policies.pdfIES / IAQM
This document discusses the ethical considerations of using air quality standards as the principal policy lever for determining air quality policies. It notes that while standards were effective when acute health impacts were thought to occur above thresholds, evidence now suggests pollution affects health down to low concentrations with no clear threshold. Standards also focus only on areas in exceedance, leaving large inequalities. Overall, directly targeting emissions through reductions may be a more ethical approach as it affects the population equally and aims to maximize health benefits. The document advocates that policies should be clearly articulated to allow the public to judge costs and impacts, and that national emission policies are likely to result in greater health benefits and equity across the population.
14.50 The Impact of the Clean Air Zone on Air Quality in Birmingham.pdfIES / IAQM
The document analyzes the impact of Birmingham's Clean Air Zone (CAZ) on air quality in the city. It shows that nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels decreased by over 30% after the CAZ was implemented at several roadside monitoring sites, providing evidence that the CAZ successfully improved air quality in Birmingham.
14.40 The role of clean air zones in achieving the UK’s net-zero emissions ta...IES / IAQM
Clean air zones (CAZs) are areas that charge vehicles for not meeting emission standards. While originally intended to reduce nitrogen dioxide, CAZs can help the UK achieve its 2050 net-zero emissions target by restricting polluting vehicles and encouraging cleaner options. The document discusses how CAZs have been implemented in many UK cities and are most effective at reducing air pollution near schools. However, there is also controversy over their potential economic impacts and unfair effects on some groups.
14.30 The discord between limit value compliance and the LAQM objective regim...IES / IAQM
The document discusses the discord between air quality limit value compliance and the local air quality management objective regime in England. It outlines different timelines for particulate matter standards under Part IV Environment Act, Air Quality Standards Regulations, Environment Bill, and the Environmental Targets (Fine Particulate Matter) Regulations. This matters as the inconsistent standards can lead to incompatible mitigation efforts, inconsistent planning decisions, differences in pollutant concentration reporting, and funding issues.
14.00 Developments in occupational hygiene and air quality.pdfIES / IAQM
The British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) is a UK-based scientific body celebrating 70 years of protecting worker health. It has over 1,400 members in 45 countries. BOHS' mission is to safeguard health through effective workplace environment management. It aims to eliminate harmful exposures, promote substitutes for hazards, and ensure workers have proper protection. BOHS conducts research, publishes information, advises regulators, and runs awareness campaigns on occupational hygiene topics like chemicals, dusts, and ventilation.
12.15 Insights from the Clean Air Networks Conference.pdfIES / IAQM
The document summarizes insights from the Clean Air Networks Conference. It discusses two waves of funding from the Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF) Clean Air totalling over £40 million to support air quality research. This includes developing solutions to air pollution and addressing indoor and outdoor air quality challenges. It outlines the Clean Air Champions network and priorities for advancing air quality science, including overcoming barriers through multidisciplinary research, stakeholder engagement, funding, data sharing, and better communication to enable behaviour change.
12.00 Applied Source Apportionment using Low Cost Sensors.pdfIES / IAQM
This document describes a new low-cost method for particulate matter source apportionment using particle number size distribution analysis. It has been tested on two sites: a construction site for the HS2 rail project in Birmingham, and a granite quarry in Leicestershire. The method was able to identify unique particle profiles associated with different pollution sources at each site, such as construction activities or quarry works. It shows potential to automate source apportionment using machine learning and a growing database of particle profiles from known sources. Future work includes applying this technique to establish better emission factors and expand its use in environmental impact assessments.
11.15 Addressing emissions from NRMM.pdfIES / IAQM
The document discusses London's Non-Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM) Low Emission Zone, which aims to reduce emissions from construction machinery. It has led to measured reductions of 48% for PM10 and PM2.5, and 42% for NOx, compared to baseline levels. The zone requires machinery above 37kW to meet certain emission standards, and sites must register their machinery online. Compliance is enforced through on-site inspections. The standards have tightened over time and will require newer Stage V machines by 2023. The program has seen little industry pushback and provides a model that could be applied in other cities.
09.45 Dispersion modelling considerations for Net Zero and air quality.pdfIES / IAQM
Catheryn Price will give a talk at the "Routes to Clean Air, 2023" conference on modeling fugitive methane emissions and controlled carbon dioxide venting from carbon capture facilities. Some of the projects discussed will include modeling fugitive methane from landfills and other sites using inverse dispersion modeling, verifying a carbon dioxide emissions inventory in Glasgow using ambient measurements, and assessing potential degradation products from amine emissions from carbon capture. The talk will emphasize that while new challenges arise in modeling emissions related to achieving net zero goals, established approaches like validation, sensitivity testing, transparency, and knowledge sharing can help address uncertainties.
09.15Measuring air pollutant emissions using novel techniques.pdfIES / IAQM
This document discusses using novel techniques like remote sensing, telematics data, and sensor data to measure vehicular pollutant concentrations and emissions at high spatial and temporal resolution. Combining data streams from different devices allows the generation of detailed maps of air pollution sources, levels, and how they change over time and location. While this offers potential benefits, integrating diverse data also raises privacy and ethical concerns that need addressing.
Climate Change All over the World .pptxsairaanwer024
Climate change refers to significant and lasting changes in the average weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It encompasses both global warming driven by human emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. While climate change is a natural phenomenon, human activities, particularly since the Industrial Revolution, have accelerated its pace and intensity
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Results of geophysics and pneumatic injection pilot tests during 2003 – 2007 yielded significant positive results for injection delivery design and contaminant mass treatment, resulting in permanent shut-down of an existing groundwater Pump & Treat system.
Accessible source areas were subsequently removed (2011) by soil excavation and treated with the placement of Emulsified Vegetable Oil EVO and zero-valent iron ZVI to accelerate treatment of impacted groundwater in overburden and weathered fractured bedrock. Post pilot test and post remediation groundwater monitoring has included analyses of CVOCs, organic fatty acids, dissolved gases and QuantArray® -Chlor to quantify key microorganisms (e.g., Dehalococcoides, Dehalobacter, etc.) and functional genes (e.g., vinyl chloride reductase, methane monooxygenase, etc.) to assess potential for reductive dechlorination and aerobic cometabolism of CVOCs.
In 2022, the first commercial application of MetaArray™ was performed at the site. MetaArray™ utilizes statistical analysis, such as principal component analysis and multivariate analysis to provide evidence that reductive dechlorination is active or even that it is slowing. This creates actionable data allowing users to save money by making important site management decisions earlier.
The results of the MetaArray™ analysis’ support vector machine (SVM) identified groundwater monitoring wells with a 80% confidence that were characterized as either Limited for Reductive Decholorination or had a High Reductive Reduction Dechlorination potential. The results of MetaArray™ will be used to further optimize the site’s post remediation monitoring program for monitored natural attenuation.
different Modes of Insect Plant InteractionArchita Das
different modes of interaction between insects and plants including mutualism, commensalism, antagonism, Pairwise and diffuse coevolution, Plant defenses, how coevolution started
WRI’s brand new “Food Service Playbook for Promoting Sustainable Food Choices” gives food service operators the very latest strategies for creating dining environments that empower consumers to choose sustainable, plant-rich dishes. This research builds off our first guide for food service, now with industry experience and insights from nearly 350 academic trials.
Presented by The Global Peatlands Assessment: Mapping, Policy, and Action at GLF Peatlands 2024 - The Global Peatlands Assessment: Mapping, Policy, and Action
Top 8 Strategies for Effective Sustainable Waste Management.pdfJhon Wick
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ENVIRONMENT~ Renewable Energy Sources and their future prospects.tiwarimanvi3129
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Evolving Lifecycles with High Resolution Site Characterization (HRSC) and 3-D...Joshua Orris
The incorporation of a 3DCSM and completion of HRSC provided a tool for enhanced, data-driven, decisions to support a change in remediation closure strategies. Currently, an approved pilot study has been obtained to shut-down the remediation systems (ISCO, P&T) and conduct a hydraulic study under non-pumping conditions. A separate micro-biological bench scale treatability study was competed that yielded positive results for an emerging innovative technology. As a result, a field pilot study has commenced with results expected in nine-twelve months. With the results of the hydraulic study, field pilot studies and an updated risk assessment leading site monitoring optimization cost lifecycle savings upwards of $15MM towards an alternatively evolved best available technology remediation closure strategy.
Improving the viability of probiotics by encapsulation methods for developmen...Open Access Research Paper
The popularity of functional foods among scientists and common people has been increasing day by day. Awareness and modernization make the consumer think better regarding food and nutrition. Now a day’s individual knows very well about the relation between food consumption and disease prevalence. Humans have a diversity of microbes in the gut that together form the gut microflora. Probiotics are the health-promoting live microbial cells improve host health through gut and brain connection and fighting against harmful bacteria. Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus are the two bacterial genera which are considered to be probiotic. These good bacteria are facing challenges of viability. There are so many factors such as sensitivity to heat, pH, acidity, osmotic effect, mechanical shear, chemical components, freezing and storage time as well which affects the viability of probiotics in the dairy food matrix as well as in the gut. Multiple efforts have been done in the past and ongoing in present for these beneficial microbial population stability until their destination in the gut. One of a useful technique known as microencapsulation makes the probiotic effective in the diversified conditions and maintain these microbe’s community to the optimum level for achieving targeted benefits. Dairy products are found to be an ideal vehicle for probiotic incorporation. It has been seen that the encapsulated microbial cells show higher viability than the free cells in different processing and storage conditions as well as against bile salts in the gut. They make the food functional when incorporated, without affecting the product sensory characteristics.
Microbial characterisation and identification, and potability of River Kuywa ...Open Access Research Paper
Water contamination is one of the major causes of water borne diseases worldwide. In Kenya, approximately 43% of people lack access to potable water due to human contamination. River Kuywa water is currently experiencing contamination due to human activities. Its water is widely used for domestic, agricultural, industrial and recreational purposes. This study aimed at characterizing bacteria and fungi in river Kuywa water. Water samples were randomly collected from four sites of the river: site A (Matisi), site B (Ngwelo), site C (Nzoia water pump) and site D (Chalicha), during the dry season (January-March 2018) and wet season (April-July 2018) and were transported to Maseno University Microbiology and plant pathology laboratory for analysis. The characterization and identification of bacteria and fungi were carried out using standard microbiological techniques. Nine bacterial genera and three fungi were identified from Kuywa river water. Clostridium spp., Staphylococcus spp., Enterobacter spp., Streptococcus spp., E. coli, Klebsiella spp., Shigella spp., Proteus spp. and Salmonella spp. Fungi were Fusarium oxysporum, Aspergillus flavus complex and Penicillium species. Wet season recorded highest bacterial and fungal counts (6.61-7.66 and 3.83-6.75cfu/ml) respectively. The results indicated that the river Kuywa water is polluted and therefore unsafe for human consumption before treatment. It is therefore recommended that the communities to ensure that they boil water especially for drinking.
Microbial characterisation and identification, and potability of River Kuywa ...
Michael Bull - DMUG 2014
1. Observed variations in modelling
studies for cumulative impact
assessment
Dr Michael Bull – Director, Ove Arup and Partners
2. 2
Cumulative Impact Assessment
• Recognised as a matter of concern, particularly for local
authorities
• Problem is how should this be assessed when considering a single
planning application
• Existing guidance does not address cumulative assessment in any
detail
• There is reference to cumulative assessment in EPUK guidance
but not in the context of single planning applications
• Generally cumulative impact assessment considered by including
known committed deveopments in baseline traffic flows
• Is this adequate?
3. Not a critique of the merits of
individual assessments undertaken
4. 4
Variations in Air Quality Assessment
• Asked to examine cumulative impacts by a residents group in a
small town who were concerned about the impacts from several
different planning applications
• Individually each has a small impact – collectively a greater
impact
• Each scheme application was accompanied by an air quality
assessment the covered the same area
• Provided an opportunity to compare the results from four studies
carried out independently but in the same area
• This presentation looks at two topics, a comparison of these
studies and secondly whether we approach cumulative
assessments correctly.
6. 6
Study Area – three main proposals
• Housing proposal for 300 homes and school
• Mixed use/housing proposal for ~170 homes
• Care village (~100 units)/housing proposal for 200 homes
• Plus … already committed
- Extension to a supermarket
- Seven other residential schemes with another 350 units
- Retail development with supermarket, retail warehouse and
garden centre
- Junior school
• So together more than 1000 units plus other development
7. 7
Current air quality
• There is an AQMA in the town centre for annual mean NO2
• Diffusion tube monitoring in the town centre has consistently
shown exceedances of the objective
• Rather indeterminate trends in concentrations in recent years.
9. 9
Air quality assessments carried out
• Four difference consultancies carried out the assessments
• One for each of the main developments
• One was looking at the overall impact of development in the area
– not specifically looking at the individual proposals
• Similar methods applied for each assessment, ADMS-Roads used
for modelling, EfT emission factors, model verification and Defra
background maps
• Varying assumptions made about future conditions either as a
sensitivity test or as the main case
• Very similar years of assessment
10. 10
Approaches to assessment
Cumulative Consultancy 1 Consultancy 2 Consultancy 3
Future
background
concentration
Defra 2010
reduced by
15%, minor
road
contribution
removed
Defra 2011 Defra 2011 Defra
2012/2013
Modelling Manual
modification of
vehicle speeds
Slowing near to
junctions
Slowing near to
junctions and
inclusion of
street canyons
Street canyons
but no account
of junction
speeds
Verification
Factor
3.147 2.2 1.012 1.3219
11. 11
Approaches to assessment
Cumulative Consultancy 1 Consultancy 2 Consultancy 3
Uptake of Euro
VI
vehicles/Future
emissions
States won’t be
significant in
2018. Uses
TG09 and HA
LTT
methodology
Not discussed Sensitivity test
assuming no
reduction in
emissions to
account for any
over optimism.
Emission
factors for 2012
used in model
with 2018
traffic data
Cumulative
Assessment
Includes
proposed (but
not specific
developments)
Some
committed
development
omitted, no
assessment of
known
proposals
Some
committed
development
omitted, no
assessment of
known
proposals
Some
committed
developments
omitted
includes other
two main
developments,
but without
ECC Highways
adjustments
13. 13
Differences?
• Assumptions on future backgrounds and future emissions clearly
have the greatest impact on the results
• Traffic behaviour in urban areas is important
• Assumptions around other developments may have minor impact
• Assumptions such as street canyons may have minor influences
• Variation in verification factor may be explained by the above
(apart from future conditions) but that then suggests more
examination of input data is required
14. 14
Conclusions of the assessments
• Each assessment of an individual planning application concludes that
there’s no significant impact – changes in concentrations are
• Cumulative assessment however, identifies some properties with
substantial or moderate adverse impacts
• Could be expected to reasonably result in more weight on air quality
matters in the planning decision if the cumulative assessment was
presented
• Could be argued it’s reasonable for a local authority to consider they
have reached capacity (in terms of air quality)
• Are we providing stakeholders with useful or confusing information?
• Are we considering cumulative assessment properly?
• Do we provide too much flexibility in guidance for use of “professional
judgement”
15. 15
Does policy/guidance help?
• NPPF - Planning policies should sustain
compliance with and contribute towards EU
limit values or national objectives for
pollutants, taking into account the presence
of Air Quality Management Areas and the
cumulative impacts on air quality from
individual sites in local areas.
• Planning Policy Guidance on Air Quality is
silent
• EPUK Guidance – “For individual,
unrelated developments controls on
cumulative emissions or impacts are much
less apparent”
17. 17
Is the current approach acceptable?
• Normal approach (for traffic related impacts) is to include the
transport impacts from the other developments in baseline traffic
flows
• Development flows are then superimposed on top
• Does results in diminution of the impacts as baseline levels are
increased and hence incremental change is less
• For cumulative effects, this approach only show a problem where
an exceedance is predicted – incremental changes owing to
cumulative effects are not considered
• Area where dispersion modelling results are weaker (see earlier
results!)
18. 18
How could we improve?
• Could an air quality assessment of a single development also look
at the impact of all consented developments and inform the
planning decision of the impacts of decisions made to date (but
not evident in the traffic data used)?
• AQ assessments could report the incremental changes in air
quality owing to the development and also a running total of the
impact on AQ on all applications approved to date (that are not
built out and included in data)
• Planning committees and EHOs could be better informed of the
cumulative impacts and may have more evidence to refuse an
application or wait until air quality had improved until
implementation.
19. 19
Some questions for the modelling community
• Is professional judgement providing too much flexibility?
• Should we change guidance to adopt a more rigid approach to
reduce variation between approaches?
• Should LAs be very specific about the approach required in air
quality assessment?
• Is our current approach to assessment of cumulative impacts
adequate
• Should we provide an assessment of the impact of all consented
schemes
• How would we determine significance when the absolute
concentration is important and there is so much variation in
results?