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Written question asked by Kerry McCarthy (Labour) on Wednesday, 27 April 2016, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 4 May 2016 (named day). It was answered by Rory Stewart (Conservative) on Wednesday, 4 May 2016 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Air Pollution

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is reviewing (a) the number of air quality zones expected to comply with nitrogen dioxide limits by 2020 and (b) her Department's Air Quality Plan to take account of the results of the Government's diesel emissions testing programme.

Answer

Our air quality plan is based on the best available data and our modelling uses the latest COPERT (Computer Programme to Calculate Emissions from Road Transport) factors to calculate emissions from diesel cars. These derive from a mixture of laboratory and on-road tests and are used by many other Member States across Europe. The ERMES (European Research Group on Mobile Emission Sources) network collates the emission measurement data which are used to update the emissions factors in the COPERT model.

Tackling air quality is a priority for this Government, which is why in May we will share the results of the testing programme with ERMES. This research will be used to inform their next update, due at the end of the year, ensuring EU-wide emission factors continue to focus on the latest data updated on the basis of real world testing.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
35807
Session
2015-16
Subjects
Air pollution Diesel vehicles Exhaust emissions Testing Nitrogen dioxide
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk