The importance of retaining the National Emission Ceilings Regulations 2018

ClientEarth and 47 experts urge the UK government to remove specific air quality regulations from the 'kill list' of the Retained EU Law (REUL) Act 2023. These regulations mandate the creation, implementation, and public consultation of the National Air Pollution Control Programme (NAPCP), which is the primary tool for meeting legally binding emission reduction commitments (ERCs) for five major pollutants. The briefing contends that the Environmental Improvement Plan for England does not provide a sufficient legal substitute, and that revoking these laws would undermine transparency and the UK's ability to address failing emission targets for pollutants like PM2.5.

• The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 includes Regulations 9 and 10 of the National Emission Ceilings (NEC) Regulations 2018 and Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1522 in its revocation list, meaning they are set to be lost by the end of 2023 unless the government removes them via statutory instrument by 31 October 2023.
• The NEC Regulations establish legally binding emission reduction commitments (ERCs) for five pollutants: fine particulate matter (PM2.5), ammonia, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide, and non-methane volatile organic compounds, with targets set for the periods 2020-2029 and 2030 onwards.
• Regulation 9 and the Commission Implementing Decision require the government to prepare and implement a National Air Pollution Control Programme (NAPCP), which must include policy options considered, analysis of impacts on emissions reductions, and an implementation plan.
• Regulation 10 of the NEC Regulations ensures public participation by requiring public consultation before the NAPCP is prepared or revised.
• The UK government's Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) is an insufficient replacement for the NAPCP because its content requirements are vague, it does not cover most pollutants addressed by the NEC Regulations, and it lacked the public consultation and stakeholder engagement mandated by the NEC Regulations.
• The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has stated that no other statutory provisions duplicate the requirements of Regulations 9 and 10, and that their removal would weaken the legal framework for air quality and impact the government's ability to stay on course to meet targets.
• The UK is currently failing to meet its emission reduction commitments; it missed a PM2.5 target in 2021, and projections from March 2023 suggest a PM2.5 target will be missed in 2025 and four of five pollutants will be missed in 2030 without further action.

APA

ClientEarth (2023). The importance of retaining the National Emission Ceilings Regulations 2018. https://www.clientearth.org/media/q0jnwqbx/reul-act-impact-on-clean-air-clientearth-briefing-september-2023.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. The importance of retaining the National Emission Ceilings Regulations 2018. 2023. https://www.clientearth.org/media/q0jnwqbx/reul-act-impact-on-clean-air-clientearth-briefing-september-2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=The importance of retaining the National Emission Ceilings Regulations 2018 |date=September 2023 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/q0jnwqbx/reul-act-impact-on-clean-air-clientearth-briefing-september-2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2023importance, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{The importance of retaining the National Emission Ceilings Regulations 2018}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/q0jnwqbx/reul-act-impact-on-clean-air-clientearth-briefing-september-2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }