1. Topic

2. Introduction

The requirement to produce air quality action plans was introduced in the Air Quality Framework Directive 96/62/EC (http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=en&numdoc=31996L0062&model=guichett).

Article 7(3) of this Directive requires Action Plans to be produced ‘indicating the measures to be taken in the short term where there is a risk of the limit values and/or alert thresholds being exceeded in order to reduce that risk…’ Article 8.3 requires ‘that a plan or programme is prepared or implemented for attaining the limit value with the specific time limit’. Article 8(3) applies in the years before the limit value has to be met, while Article 7(3) can be assumed more relevant from the date on which the limit value has to be met. The plans must include a programme for attaining the limit values within the specific time limit, and these programmes must be implemented. Annex IV of the Directive provides a schedule of information that must be included in action plans.

3. Discussion

Action planning is the most important part of the air quality management process, providing a practical opportunity for improving local air quality in areas where review and assessment shows that national measures will be insufficient to meet one or more of the air quality limit values.

An air quality action plan should include the following:

· Quantification of the source contributions to the predicted exceedances of the limit values: this will allow the action plan measures to be effectively targeted.

· Quantification of the regional versus the locally produced contributions: this will show how much air quality improvements can be expected from local measures.

· Quantification of contributions from neighbourhood areas within a common air shed: this can show possibilities for cooperation between neighbouring jurisdictions.

· Evidence that all available options have been considered on the grounds of cost and feasibility.

· How the local authority will use its powers and also work together with others in pursuit of the relevant air quality objectives.

· Clear timescales within which the authority and other organisations propose to implement the measures contained in the plan.

· Quantification of the expected impacts of the proposed measures, by when they can be expected and, where possible, an indication as to whether these will be sufficient to meet the limit values.

· How the municipal authority intends to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the plan.

How to make an action plan effective

Overview

Once the main sources of the pollution have been identified, the municipal authority should carefully assess the options/measures available to it to improve air quality. Authorities should ensure that the measures to be included in the plan are cost-effective and proportionate, taking into account the contribution of pollution from different sources. They should also make sure that the proposed approach strikes the right balance between the use of regulatory powers and non-regulatory measures (such as travel plans, public information campaigns, 'walk to school' initiatives, etc.).

Municipal authorities should appraise and where possible quantify the wider environmental, economic and social consequences of each option. Municipal authorities should assess the cost effectiveness of each measure. The appraisal of cost-effectiveness should show that the authority has considered the costs of implementing various options before reaching a decision as to whether it is cost-effective to do so.

Organisation

Municipal authorities will generally wish to set up a steering group to take forward the development of an action plan. The members of the steering group should include officers across the different municipal authority departments and may also include officers from different municipal authorities where a regional action plan is being drawn up. The steering group should engage support from other outside bodies, businesses and local community groups where appropriate to take the process forward. This steering group should ensure that the action plan is taken into account in any Local Transport Strategy/ development plan/Local Community Plan/Agenda 21 strategy.

Consultation

Effective consultation/interaction with the general public is also extremely important. Local residents/community groups and businesses need to be involved from the start when the action plan is being drawn up. Local authorities need to explain fully why these measures have to be introduced, and look for innovative ways to engage stakeholders. The action plan will not work unless it has support from the local community.

Jurisdiction aspects

Some of the actions needed to improve air quality may well be outside the local authority’s remit. This is the case where, for example, an industrial process, airport or major highway regulated by another agency is contributing to exceedances of the limit. In these cases municipal authorities should make clear any limitations in their action plans and show the extent to which they rely on actions by others to work towards meeting the objectives. The plan should show how other agencies have been involved in its production, and indicate what the authority will do to make sure they stay involved.

Updating/Reporting locally

Municipal authorities have a duty to keep their action plans up to date. They should periodically re-evaluate the progress made by their action plans and report this to the relevant national body in order that national reporting can be completed. Typically annual progress reports will be prepared listing the measures within the action plan, the timescales by when they are/were due to be implemented and give an update on progress in terms of implementing them.

Reporting to the EU

See the topic What must be reported to the European Commission under the air quality directives?.

Step-wise process for Action Plan development, and tools

The development of an Action Plan can be broken down into a number of steps (see also the Appendix of this topic description).

Step 1: The Assessment of Air Quality

· An inventory of emissions and sources must be produced. This is described in detail under the Topic How to develop urban Emission Inventories?.

· Assessment of ambient concentrations and meteorological conditions must be carried out. This is described in detail under the topic sections Models for Planning: Pollution and Exposure Modelling and Air Quality Monitoring Methods.

· Review limit values from the Air Quality Framework Directive 96/62/EC and any relevant National standards for ambient concentrations for all pollutants identified in step 1A.

· Compare ambient concentrations with air quality standards: identify areas with concentrations above standards and inventory people at risk in those areas (population exposure distribution) to establish which areas both fail to meet standards and also contain people for the relevant periods.

· Setting priorities: prioritise the most important air pollutants and prioritise the most important sources of the priority air pollutants, based upon the relative shares of sources to ambient concentrations (with the help of dispersion models, Step 1B), or less accurately based upon the relative shares of sources to emissions (Step 1A).

Step 2: Set up a Working Group

It is essential that this working group includes representatives from all organisations that are likely to be required to contribute to the implementation of the action plan.

Step 3: Identify Options to Reduce Levels of Priority Pollutants

· Identify what will happen as a result of actions or policies already planned to take place, for example proposed new transport plans, or new city planning policies (see e.g. topics Short Term Planning and Other Planning Activities improving Air Quality).

· For each major source of priority pollutants identified in Step 1, identify technical measures that will lead to a reduction in the pollutant level in the affected areas, their costs, and their emission reduction potential (see e.g. topic What measures should we plan for reducing specific pollutants?).

· For every priority pollutant, rank the measures from Step 2.B on the basis of cost-effectiveness. This can theoretically be carried out to a level of detail demonstrating the cost per unit of reduction for the pollutant. However, in practice this is often very difficult, and categories of pollutant reduction and cost such as ‘low, medium and high’ are often used. Where this approach is taken it is important to quantify the parameters of these categories in terms of cost or pollution reduction or reduction in pollutant concentration.

· Make emission-reduction scenarios for packages of measures (starting with the most cost-effective), and calculate their total costs and emission reduction effects.

Step 4: Evaluate the Options

The packages of measures designed in Step 2 must be evaluated with regard to the following issues:

· Perceptions – The perceptions of interested parties including: the public, politicians, other agencies, industry and commerce.

· Cost effectiveness – as evaluated in Step 2. This should also consider the cost to other parties, for example to other agencies, to the public, to commercial operations etc.

· Air Quality Improvements – An estimation of the level of improvement delivered by the package of measures compared to what is required to meet the relevant limit.

· Non Air Quality Impacts – for example socio-economic impacts, climate change, noise, local transport plans.

· Feasibility

· Resources

· Timescale

4. Recommendation / Conclusion

The Framework Directive requires action plans (‘Plans or Programmes’) to be prepared in cases where limit values are likely to be exceeded. The preparation of these plans provides the framework for the improvement of local air quality. It is essential that these action plans consider a wide range of issues and are prepared in consultation with a wide range of agencies, professionals and the public in order for them to be effective. Action plans must contain carefully evaluated measures and timescales in order for them to be effective. A considerable amount of literature has been prepared which includes detailed evaluation of many mechanisms to improve local air quality (see references below). It is essential to commit adequate resource to this critical step in the process in order to gain maximum benefit in terms of cost-benefit.

5. Examples / Further Reading

Examples of action plans and their development:

Air Quality Action Plan development - Bristol

Air Quality Action Plan Development in Utrecht (NL)

London Borough of Croydon, UK – Action Plan Development

The Gothenburg Region’s Air Quality Programme

Other related examples:

Measures to reduce NO2 in Birmingham, UK

How to reduce Nox emissions

Further Examples:

6. Additional Documents / Web Links

· Air Quality Management Areas: Turning Reviews into Action. National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection: http://www.nsca.org.uk/

· Air Quality Action Plans: Interim Guidance for Local Authorities. National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection: http://www.nsca.org.uk/

· Air Quality: Planning for Action. National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection Council Directive 96/62/EC on ambient air quality assessment and management: http://www.nsca.org.uk/

· Urban Air Quality Management Strategy in Asia Guidebook. The World Bank: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/, search word: URBAIR.

· Urban Air Quality Management Strategy in Asia. City-specific Action Plan reports for several cities. http://www-wds.worldbank.org/, search word: URBAIR.

· Helsinki Action Plan: Helsinki%20Action%20Plan%202003.doc

Appendix 1

The Process of Action Planning

Last Updated

25th January 2005