National Environment Policy of the United Kingdom - Essay Example

?The Role of the Environment Agency in the Improvement of UK Air Quality The current environmental policy of the United Kingdom puts emphasis on adaptation. This is typified by aggressive measures to address emergent environmental issues such as climate change, flooding and other environmental problems brought about by natural occurrences as well as man made phenomena. For this purpose, several environmental statutes have been passed and the numerous agencies with environmental mandate were integrated into the Environment Agency. The organization was established in 1995 and its main responsibility is to achieve sustainability for the United Kingdom. Its mission, as outlined in its Corporate Plan 2011-2015, is to protect and improve the environment and make it a better place for people and wildlife. Specific goals include: 1. to reduce the risks to people and properties from flooding; 2. ensure adequate supply of water; 3. protect air, land and water quality and apply environmental standards within which industry can operate; 4. reduce climate change; and, 5. help people and wildlife to adapt to its consequences (EA, 2011, p.2). As cited in the above mission and goals, one of the tasks of the Environment Agency is to ensure air quality in the country. This is the main focus of this research. This paper will examine whether the Environment Agency is effective in achieving its objectives in terms of the air quality standards in the United Kingdom. The Role of the Environment Agency According to Hopwood, Unerman and Fries (2010, p.22), the Environment Agency is one body that can exert pressure on central government on issues of sustainability. This is also evident in the breadth of jurisdiction as well as the strength of authority given to the agency in addressing environmental issues. Today, the agency has the responsibility to implement national regulations at the subnational level and also assist in the development of local action plans at the catchment level such as the system of Local Air Quality Management (Keskitalo, 2010, p.100). This is supported by the manner by which UK follows the Command and Control regulatory model in regulating pollution. The idea is that the implementation and success of the regulatory policy is seen to rest on the establishment of administrative organizations that are capable to fulfill two tasks. According to Wolf (2010, p.28), these tasks include: a) the bureaucratic task of processing paperwork relating to the issue of licences/permits to pollute and notices to take action regarding pollution problem identified by the regulator; and, b) policing compliance with the relevant licences/permits, notices and other regulatory control, which involves the regulator in monitoring and enforcement roles. These requirements were satisfied with the creation of the Environment Agency, tasked to oversee the protection of the environment as a whole and unified the regulatory powers that cover the air, land, and water. Based on the above factors, one can assume that the agency has the power to make meaningful changes in areas within its scope. Air Quality Objectives In order to evaluate the performance of the Environment Agency specific to air pollution, it is important to outline the objectives it has been working to achieve in this area. These objectives are contained in the larger Air Quality Strategy, mandated by The Environment Act of the 1995, which created the Environment agency. The strategy was finally drafted and adopted in 1997 and it contained standards, objectives and measures for improving ambient air quality (DEFRA, 2007, p.9). The strategy has undergone several modifications such as those introduced in 2003, which tightened several of its objectives and added newer ones. The most updated was the strategy released in 2007, which outlined the following objectives: the government will ensure that all citizens have access to outdoor air without significant risk to their health; the standards for setting objectives are set purely with regard to scientific and medical evidence on the effects of the particular pollutant on health as minimum or zero risk levels; standards (limitations, values, critical loads) are specified to reduce ecosystem damage (DEFRA, p.13) The Air Quality Strategy also lists a number of pollutants and the proposed standards of their regulations. According to the objectives set by Air Quality Strategy, it is estimated that by around 2050, levels of nitrogen dioxide in London could be reduced by approximately 55% and 70% below 2007 values at background and roadside locations respectively (Tiwary and Colls, 2009, p.460). This summary of objectives provides a clear and systematic picture of the mandate and function of the Environment Agency in the area of air quality objectives in the UK. The question now is whether these objectives are being met. This issue can only be evaluated by describing the current air quality and, in the process, determine whether each of the objectives set is successfully achieved after the agency began its operations. Air Quality Today The available literature on air pollution is unified in recognizing that air pollution has been diminished through the years. But the period being compared to the current experience is the 1950s when the industrial and domestic fuel usage has been dominated by coal. Today, the causes of air pollution have changed. It is dominated by carbon emissions from vehicles and industrial sources. In 2002, for instance, a government study reported: Indicators show that overall levels of pollution have improved significantly since the 1950s. Nevertheless, smog episodes still occur during calm winter days, although the main pollutants are now oxides of nitrogen. Several winter smogs occurred in London during the 1990s… up to 24,000 deaths were brought forward in the UK in 1995/1996 due to the short-term effects of pollution (UK Parliament, 2006, p.2) Recent trends in the air quality index have been reported by the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP, 2011). Their main findings state: Concentrations of particulate matter showed some decline in the late 1990s but there has been little change since about 2000 whereas there has been unusually high concentrations during 2003 and 2006 periods; The average annual mean nitrogen dioxide concentrations, which results from traffic emissions, have shown gentle decline in the latter part of the 1990s but increased noticeably from 2002 onwards; Concentrations of sulphur dioxide have declined as a result of coal use reductions and the fitting of emissions abatement measures in power stations and industry; Carbon monoxide concentrations have declined as a result of the fitting of three-way catalysts to petrol-driven cars (p.55). The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (2011) report for air quality this year has been recently published in DEFRA statistical release covering the years 1987 to 2011 and the trends predicted show very little change from the recent air quality index report previously cited. Some important facts include how urban and roadside pollution has shown long-term improvement but significant declines in the past four years were recorded. All in all, the air quality as evidenced by the existing data show a positive improvement and the Environment Agency’s role is prominent in this development. In the latter part of the 1990s, immediately after the regulatory body was established, there were marked changes in the air quality index. This is supported by the government audit on the Environment Agency’s performance. The BIS review (2010, p.2), for instance, identified progress made both within the organizational culture and the outcomes of its initiatives and promptly expressed confidence that the organization is a good-practice regulator that is currently well placed to successfully implement new and innovative enforcement initiatives. One of the important variables that help the Environment Agency realize its goals is the existing management accounting systems in decision-making and also in monitoring, assessing and modifying existing programs and initiatives. As Hopwood, Underman and Fries (p.22) observed, this accounting system used in all levels of the organization helps to provide efficiency and additional legitimacy to what the Environment Agency is doing. However, recent developments indicate a failing efficiency. In the past four or five years, the air quality index is gradually deteriorating with marked increases in air pollutant concentrations. This cannot be merely attributed to some changes in the weather or considered a temporary setback within a long-term improvement trajectory. There is a consistent annual performance failure in the past years. This can aggravate the fact that the government admits how targets for nitrogen dioxide, particulate matters and ozone may be breached in some areas today until the year 2025 (POST, 2002, p.3). This seriously undermines the objective of the Environment Agency of securing clear air for UK citizens. Air pollutants have been found to directly and indirectly cause increasing death rates in the UK in recent years. There is a growing body of evidence that particulate matters can penetrate right inside the lungs and result in adverse health effects (POST, p.3). It was also found that lowering the air pollutant concentration by at least one millionth of a gramme per cubic metre could enable people to live an additional 1.5 to 3.6 days to their lives (COMEAP 2002). Possible Challenges The structure of the Environment Agency may have something to contribute about its capacity to regulate pollutants and control air quality. According to Wolf (p.38), while the government envisaged the Environment Agency to be guided by the fundamental objective of obtaining sustainability, it is also clear that there is no absolute objective in so far as the principal aim of the agency is qualified in two ways: first, that the aim is subject to and in accordance with any other provisions of the EA of 1995 or any other enactment; secondly, the agency is also required to take into account any likely costs of discharging its duty in the attainment of its aims. The Air Quality Strategy also depicts this point. It stressed that the air quality objectives are merely statement of policy intentions or policy targets and that, therefore, there is no legal requirement to meet the objectives (DEFRA 2007, p.15) For example, Environment Agency regulators has no legal obligation to set Emission Limit Values (ELVs) any more stringent than the emission levels associated with the use of Best Available Techniques (BAT) in issuing permits (DEFRA, p.15). The strategy also made it clear that its regulatory objectives have to be balanced with economic and other variables. Now this is crucial because improving air quality have severe cost implications. The benefits, at least in the case of the UK is far outweighed by the cost. According to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (2011), it is estimated that the costs of low emission vehicles would be 61 million pounds while the benefits would be 72 million pounds every year. This variable impacts the regulatory policy in the country, which unfortunate because the cost-benefit analysis might not be that comprehensive. Unlike the European Commission’s Clean Air for Europe programme, the government’s cost-benefit methodology for assessing air quality policies and measures does not fully include morbidity effects, which implies a substantial underestimate of the costs of the effect of poor air quality on morbidity (UK Parliament, 2010, p. 122). Fortunately, the national Air Quality Strategy is subject to legally binding policies adopted by the European Union. The European Commission could take legal action against UK if it is not able to meet agreed air quality standards. One of the EU policies that have an important bearing on the enforcement of the UK air quality policy is the European Directive Limit and Target Values for the Protection of Human Health. This policy provides specific measures for pollutants in European countries. For example, the UK is working to maintain the 200ug.m-3 cap for nitrogen dioxide since December 2005 (DEFRA, p.20) The Directive sets target values for an initial list of twelve air pollutants, which is eventually expanded further through the years (Cullingworth and Nadin, 2001, p.215). Conclusion As pointed out by this paper, the overall objective of the United Kingdom in its national environment policy is anchored on adaptability and sustainability. Air quality is a crucial variable in this strategy. Through the establishment of the Environment Agency, there came a more coherent administrative mechanism in regulating air pollution. In its early years, the body has already achieved several of its mandates, with recognized improvements in air quality in the United Kingdom. UK also has existing auditing agencies that ensure evaluation and assessment of performance. However, the achievements have been stalled in recent years. This can be attributed to some organizational weaknesses. This paper has outlined some of these, including the need to balance regulation and enforcement with economic variables that severely hamper the drive to curb air pollution. This is reflected in the cost-benefit methodology that, unfortunately, influences UK policy on air quality standards. The Environment Agency is considered by many as an ideal institution that could achieve for the UK meaningful improvements in its air quality. The organization has already demonstrated this in the past. The present trend, which depict a failing performance, could be addressed by strengthening its regulatory mandate and amending the model by which UK balances regulation with economic considerations. References Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP)., 2011. Review of the UK Air Quality Index. London: Health Protection Agency. Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP)., 2009. Long-term exposure to air pollution: effect on mortality. COMEAP. [online] Available at: http://comeap.org.uk/documents/63-long-term-exposure-to-air-pollution-effect-on-mortality.html [Accessed 28 April 2012]. Cullingworth, J.B. and Nadin, V., 2001. Town and country Planning in the UK. London: Routledge. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)., 2007. The Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Vol. 1. London: DEFRA. DEFRA., 2011. Air Quality Statistics in The United Kingdom 1987-2011. DEFRA. [online] Available at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/files/Air-quality-statistics-in-the-UK-1987-to-2011-Provisional.pdf [Accessed 27 April 2012]. Environment Agency., 2011. The EA Corporate Plan. Bristol: Environment Agency. Hopwood, A., Unerman, J. and Fries, J., 2010. Accounting for Sustainability: Practical Insights. London: Garrick Limited. Keskitalo, E.C., 2010. Introductory Guide to Planning and Environmental Protection. Berlin: Springer. Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST)., 2002. Air Quality in the UK. PostNote, 2002(188), pp.1-4. Tiwary, A. and Colls, J., 2010. Air Pollution. Oxon: Taylor and Francis. UK Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS)., 2011. Protecting Air Quality: The Effects of Air Pollution in Developed and Developing Countries. BIS. [online] Available at: http://www.sigmascan.org/Live/Issue/ViewIssue/43/4/protecting-air-quality-the-effects-of-air-pollution-in-developed-and-developing/ [Accessed 26 April 2012]. UK Department for Business Innovation and Skills 2010, The Environment Agency: A review of Progress since its Hampton Implementation Review. London: Better Regulation Executive. UK Parliament: House of Commons. 2006. Meeting UK Energy and Climate Needs: The Role of Carbon Capture and Storage; First Report of Session 2005-06. London: The Stationery Office. UK Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee., 2010. Air Quality: Fifth Report of Session 2009010, Vol. 2. London: The Stationery Office. Wolf, Susan and Stanley, Neil. (2010). Wolf and Stanley on Environmental Law. Oxon: Routledge. Read More