Who benefits from environmental policy? An environmental justice analysis of air quality change in Britain, 2001–2011
Air quality in Great Britain has improved in recent years, but not enough to prevent the European Commission (EC) taking legal action for non-compliance with limit values. Air quality is a national public health concern, with disease burden associated with current air quality estimated at 29 000 pre...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2015-01-01
|
| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/10/105009 |
| _version_ | 1797748629919760384 |
|---|---|
| author | Gordon Mitchell Paul Norman Karen Mullin |
| author_facet | Gordon Mitchell Paul Norman Karen Mullin |
| author_sort | Gordon Mitchell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Air quality in Great Britain has improved in recent years, but not enough to prevent the European Commission (EC) taking legal action for non-compliance with limit values. Air quality is a national public health concern, with disease burden associated with current air quality estimated at 29 000 premature deaths per year due to fine particulates, with a further burden due to NO _2 . National small-area analyses showed that in 2001 poor air quality was much more prevalent in socio-economically deprived areas. We extend this social distribution of air quality analysis to consider how the distribution changed over the following decade (2001–2011), a period when significant efforts to meet EC air quality directive limits have been made, and air quality has improved. We find air quality improvement is greatest in the least deprived areas, whilst the most deprived areas bear a disproportionate and rising share of declining air quality including non-compliance with air quality standards. We discuss the implications for health inequalities, progress towards environmental justice, and compatibility of social justice and environmental sustainability objectives. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:08:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-68249cec199f4dfa9a1511edae180182 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:08:28Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-68249cec199f4dfa9a1511edae1801822023-08-09T14:15:37ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262015-01-01101010500910.1088/1748-9326/10/10/105009Who benefits from environmental policy? An environmental justice analysis of air quality change in Britain, 2001–2011Gordon Mitchell0Paul Norman1Karen Mullin2School of Geography, University of Leeds , Leeds, LS2 9JT, UKSchool of Geography, University of Leeds , Leeds, LS2 9JT, UKSchool of Geography, University of Leeds , Leeds, LS2 9JT, UKAir quality in Great Britain has improved in recent years, but not enough to prevent the European Commission (EC) taking legal action for non-compliance with limit values. Air quality is a national public health concern, with disease burden associated with current air quality estimated at 29 000 premature deaths per year due to fine particulates, with a further burden due to NO _2 . National small-area analyses showed that in 2001 poor air quality was much more prevalent in socio-economically deprived areas. We extend this social distribution of air quality analysis to consider how the distribution changed over the following decade (2001–2011), a period when significant efforts to meet EC air quality directive limits have been made, and air quality has improved. We find air quality improvement is greatest in the least deprived areas, whilst the most deprived areas bear a disproportionate and rising share of declining air quality including non-compliance with air quality standards. We discuss the implications for health inequalities, progress towards environmental justice, and compatibility of social justice and environmental sustainability objectives.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/10/105009air qualityenvironmental justicelongitudinal analysishealth inequalitiesenvironmental standardfine particulates |
| spellingShingle | Gordon Mitchell Paul Norman Karen Mullin Who benefits from environmental policy? An environmental justice analysis of air quality change in Britain, 2001–2011 Environmental Research Letters air quality environmental justice longitudinal analysis health inequalities environmental standard fine particulates |
| title | Who benefits from environmental policy? An environmental justice analysis of air quality change in Britain, 2001–2011 |
| title_full | Who benefits from environmental policy? An environmental justice analysis of air quality change in Britain, 2001–2011 |
| title_fullStr | Who benefits from environmental policy? An environmental justice analysis of air quality change in Britain, 2001–2011 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Who benefits from environmental policy? An environmental justice analysis of air quality change in Britain, 2001–2011 |
| title_short | Who benefits from environmental policy? An environmental justice analysis of air quality change in Britain, 2001–2011 |
| title_sort | who benefits from environmental policy an environmental justice analysis of air quality change in britain 2001 2011 |
| topic | air quality environmental justice longitudinal analysis health inequalities environmental standard fine particulates |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/10/105009 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gordonmitchell whobenefitsfromenvironmentalpolicyanenvironmentaljusticeanalysisofairqualitychangeinbritain20012011 AT paulnorman whobenefitsfromenvironmentalpolicyanenvironmentaljusticeanalysisofairqualitychangeinbritain20012011 AT karenmullin whobenefitsfromenvironmentalpolicyanenvironmentaljusticeanalysisofairqualitychangeinbritain20012011 |