Air Quality – Getting the Balance Right
Report of the Technical Advisory Group on National Air-Quality Standards

This report contains the recommendations of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for Air Quality.  The TAG convened from July to November 2009. During this time, the TAG invited submissions from key stakeholders. The summary of submissions report is attached as an annex to the TAG report.

Key points

New Zealand’s air quality is generally good but, in some regions and especially during winter, air pollution can be a real problem.

Setting appropriate standards for air quality, however, involves difficult judgements and tradeoffs between the economic, environmental, health and other aspirations of the community.

The Technical Advisory Group has undertaken a careful evaluation of the costs and benefits of the existing national environmental standards for air pollution. Our focus, as required by our terms of reference, has been on the pollution arising from particulate matter called PM10 (particulate matter smaller than 10 microns).

We have concluded that the current regulations relating to PM10 are flawed. The regulations do not tackle the main source of the problem, the timetable is too ambitious and the regulations do not have the buy-in of the community.

To be effective and sustainable, public policy needs to be credible, consistent and provide certainty. In the TAG’s view the policies for PM10 standards that are likely to work best will:

  • recognise that poor air quality is a local (airshed) problem and that therefore local solutions are generally likely to work best;
  • be based on a package of measures that are scientifically based and mutually reinforcing, whilst allowing for sharing of information on successful approaches between regional councils; and
  • provide regional councils with incentives (through a combination of both “carrots” and “sticks”) to take into account the economic, environmental and social costs and benefits of air pollution.

The Technical Advisory Group recommends that the number of times that the PM10 standard can be exceeded be increased from one to three days per year; it be made clear that exceedances caused by exceptional events do not count as breaches of the regulations; and that the timetable for achieving the standards be extended, where the current 2013 timetable cannot be met, to no later than 2020.

Successful implementation of the revised regulations will require greater public awareness of the health problems caused by air pollution; more transparency of the progress being made in achieving the standards; and the development, as required, by regional councils of airshed implementation plans. There may also be benefits in linking some central government funding to successful implementation of the new regulations.