Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to ensure parity in air pollution reporting requirements between the UK and EU.

This Government is committed to leaving the environment in a better state than we found it and we have been clear that we will uphold our high standards on environmental protections and meet our international commitments. Having left the EU we want to ensure that our regulatory framework is appropriate, tailored to the UK and able to drive improved environmental outcomes.

The UK reports against requirements for both emissions and concentrations of air pollutants, as set out in domestic and international legislation. Concentrations are assessed under the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010 and Environment Act 2021, both of which have annual reporting publications. Achievement of existing emission targets and projected achievement of future targets are reported as part of our domestic obligations under the National Emission Ceilings Regulations 2018 ensuring transparency and scrutiny of the UK’s progress. Emissions are also reported to the UNECE Secretariat to fulfil our international reporting obligations under the UNECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution. In addition to reporting to meet legislative requirements, the UK reports the data in two annual Accredited Official Statistics releases and makes more granular data available through the UK-Air and National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory websites.

The UK also continues to report on industrial emissions through the UK Pollutant Release and Transfer Protocol (PRTR), which is retained EU law and implements the UNECE Kyiv Protocol on PRTRs.