Policy recommendations and project outcomes from CON+AIR project

The meeting will be of interest and value to any stakeholders engaged in policy or research related to the thematic areas of air and climate, and the sectors of transport and the built environment.

Programme

09:30am Tea & Coffee

10:00am Welcome from Dr Andrew Kelly CEO EnvEcon

10:10am Problems and Solutions. Two scenarios for air pollutant emissions in 2030 in Ireland presented by Dr Eoin Ó Broin, EnvEcon

11:15am Ambient Air Concentrations in 2030 in Ireland using EMEP and EPISODE models presented by Dr Gabriela Sousa Santos, NILU

12:00pm Discussion led by Prof Martin Williams, Kings College London

12:50pm Closing remarks, Irish EPA

01:00pm Lunch

Concerns relating to air pollution and the associated impacts on human health have been more commonly raised in public discourse over recent years. The high profile scandals relating to emissions from diesel cars, as well as the increasing prevalence of ‘green’ wood burning stoves have seen the topic engaged with more often by the media and general public. Climate change mitigation policies, either directly or indirectly, have certainly encouraged some growth in the number of diesel vehicles on our roads, and the number of homes burning wood fuels for heat. It is vital that policy measures implemented to reduce greenhouse gas emissions do not at the same time compromise air quality. Ireland is currently in breach of the EU Ceiling Directive on emissions of NOX and also the related WHO limits for clean air. Air Quality is also part of two Sustainable Development Goals, 3.9, which seeks to reduce mortality due to indoor and ambient air pollution to ensure healthy lives and 11.6 which calls for special attention to air quality in cities.

This seminar presents results from the EPA funded CON+AIR project which has been exploring the challenge of simultaneously satisfying both air quality and climate mitigation goals, with a focus on the Irish residential and transport sectors. As part of CON+AIR two scenarios for Irish Air Quality in 2030 have been created. The first, called the Problematic Pathway, shows how air pollutant emissions could increase to 2030 due to a combination of economic drivers, technical choices and fiscal incentives. This scenario shows an unlikely, but plausible future for worsening air quality in Ireland. The second scenario, the Solution Pathway, responds directly to the challenges that arise in the problematic pathway and illustrates an alternative path where air quality improves relative to both the 2030 Problematic Pathway, and well beyond levels in 2015 Levels of national emissions and spatially distributed ambient pollutant concentrations will be presented. The air pollutants covered include PM2.5, NOX, and Ozone. The project was developed and led by EnvEcon Decision Support, a Dublin based research and consultancy operation. EnvEcon developed and modelled the scenarios, spatially distributed the emissions, and assembled the associated policy recommendations. The ambient air concentrations have been modelled by their partners, NILU, the Norwegian Institute for Air Research. NILU modelled the spatial emissions associated with each scenario and pollutants using the EMEP model at a 2KM X 2KM resolution for the Republic of Ireland. In addition, the EPISODE model was applied to generate a high resolution map of NO2 concentrations at a 100m X 100m grid resolution for the Dublin region.

Project website: http://conair.envecon.eu/