CIEH to sit on new Defra BAT Advisory Group

CIEH are delighted to announce that we have been invited to attend a new Defra Advisory Group on the development of ‘Best Available Techniques’ with respect to Air Quality.

Membership of the Advisory Group is compiled of representatives from Industry and trade associations, NGOs, academia, as well as local authority representatives. Working closely with these groups, CIEH are committed to contributing towards developing a regime which promotes good public and environmental health.

‘Best Available Techniques’ means the economically and technically viable techniques which are the best for preventing or minimising emissions and impacts on the environment.

The UK introduced an integrated approach to controlling pollution to air, water, and land in the Environmental Protection Act 1990, as well as the concept of ‘Best Available Techniques’. These approaches have subsequently been adopted and applied across the EU through the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive and subsequent Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), which sets challenging industry standards for the most polluting industries.

Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, the UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government, and the Department of Agriculture, Environmental and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, must now work together to develop a future regime for the development of ‘Best Available Techniques’ within the UK.

CIEH has been campaigning for improving UK Air Quality working as part of the Healthy Air Campaign (HAC) coalition of charities and public health organisations. We will continue to consult widely with our coalition partners in HAC for their input and support as we engage with the UK BAT Advisory Group.

Ciaran Donaghy, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Executive at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said:

“We are very much looking forward to getting involved in shaping the work of the new Defra Advisory Group on ‘Best Available Techniques’ to improve air quality in the UK.

The links between air quality and public health are well known with the 2021 WHO guidelines on air quality highlighting how harmful poor air quality is to both environmental and public health.

CIEH aims to seize this opportunity to help influence the design of the UK’s BAT regime with the aim of reducing the most harmful pollutants, promoting improved air quality and supporting better public health.”