Barnard offers this advice : “ Local authorities need to be empowered to follow specific air quality roadmaps that reflect their specific circumstances . It is naive to assume that a London-based council close to an airport , for example , would be able to reach the same air pollution reduction targets as a rural constituency .
“ If change is to be achieved , DEFRA needs to install a better incentive scheme for local councils to buy-in to its clean air ambitions . Incentivisation is far more effective than punishment and we should be recognising and rewarding cities for making improvements . Inspiring public interest too is critical to inspire behaviour change – the most effective tool against the nasty ultra fine particles and black carbon in our cities .
“ Within the climate space , we have become accustomed to the sinking feeling as air quality targets are missed . In 2020 , the Climate Change Committee predicted that the UK will miss its 2035 climate targets by a significant margin , having already failed on 17 out of 21 progress indicators .
“ To stop this upcoming legislation from becoming just another in a string of failures , DEFRA needs to take this opportunity to develop locally focused air quality policies built on continuous feedback , knowledge sharing and support .
“ The Montreal Protocol showed us the potential of a climate pledge done right . All we can hope is that DEFRA learns from past mistakes and introduces air quality targets that focus on the ‘ how ’ rather than the ‘ when . sustainabilitymag . com 77