Clean Air Research Futures Group
The Clean Air Research Futures Group (CARFuG) brings together a broad range of participants in a series of meetings that will map out the future research and evidence requirements as our air pollution climate changes over the coming decades. Convened by the UK Clean Air Champions, the group supports the joint UK Research and Innovation and Met Office Strategic Priorities Fund Clean Air Programme.
The group is Chaired by the Clean Air Champions who also function as a secretariat. It meets three times year and has a small membership, including people from industry, government, and NGO communities as well as researchers in fields such as health, transport and urban planning. Membership will vary according the topic chosen.
What are the evidence gaps to enable effective action to reduce the impacts of air pollution from agriculture?
(Meeting 5)
PM2.5 across the UK and Western Europe is frequently dominated by particles that contain ammonia. Within the UK around 90 % of ammonia comes from agriculture. Ammonia is emitted as a gas and rapidly transforms into ammonium particles by combining with sulphate and nitrate. These represent roughly 20% to 40% of total PM2.5 in the air. Despite clear evidence from the air pollution science community, progress in reducing emissions and concentrations has been slow. It is clear that the air pollution science community is not inclusive of all the possible solutions. Less heard are the voices of the farming community.
What research is needed to understand and manage air pollution exposure in indoor public spaces and transport environments?
(Meeting 4)
We focus on air pollution exposure in indoor public spaces and transport environments, highlighting the complexity of sources and the need for better monitoring and interventions. Indoor spaces such as schools, offices, and public buildings are affected by emissions from building materials, cleaning products, combustion, and human activity. Research gaps include understanding the toxicity of particulate matter, synergistic effects of multiple pollutants, and the balance between energy efficiency and ventilation. Vulnerable groups, particularly children and deprived communities, are disproportionately exposed, underscoring the importance of targeted studies and consistent methodologies to assess inequalities.
What research is needed to understand and track inequalities and vulnerabilities in air pollution exposure?
(Meeting 3)
We focus on inequalities and vulnerabilities in air pollution exposure, emphasising the need to embed lived experience at the heart of research and policy. Disadvantaged groups, such as children, the elderly, and those in deprived communities, are disproportionately exposed to harmful pollutants, with schools, hospitals, and care homes often located in areas exceeding WHO guidelines. The presentations stress the importance of meaningful engagement, co-production of interventions, and accessible communication to ensure that those most affected can make informed choices. Research gaps include understanding indoor–outdoor air quality links, quantifying health costs of inequalities, and exploring the intersection between air pollution, climate change, and social equity.
Creating a pathway toward the new WHO guidelines – what are the evidence gaps?
(Meeting 2)
Since 1987, the World Health Organisation have been setting guidelines for the quality of our outdoor air. They are designed to offer guidance in reducing the health impacts of air pollution and are based on expert evaluation of current scientific evidence. They are not legally binding, but they do act as a yardstick for governments around the world to help with their own standard setting processes and they help the public to understand the level of ambition that its required. New guidelines were issued by the WHO in September 2021. This is the first revision since 2005 and included some major changes, reflecting advancements in the evidence base.
Making it personal – will small/portable sensors transform air pollution management and research?
(Meeting 1)
If only we could see the air pollution around us, we could identify the culprits and avoid exposure. More accessible, small sensors are deployable in large numbers across a given area and could open exciting new opportunities for community engagement and personal action, providing the opportunity to make air pollution ‘visible’. But do they work? How can we use them to tell us more about the air pollution that we breathe? And do they open new opportunities to address knowledge gaps to help us manage air pollution? As framed neatly in the meeting, the challenge is to place the right sensor in the right place, at the right time and to provide the right data to the right person in a way that is then understood and can be actionable.
Knowledge Exchange Group
The Knowledge Exchange Group (KEG) brings together experts from academia, government agencies, consultancies and third sector organisations to a series of meetings that will act as a sounding board for the SPF projects and their impact pathways. The group will meet four times over the course of the Clean Air Programme.
Exploring emerging findings and impact potential
(Meeting 2)
During this second meeting, the Wave 2 projects presented progress and emerging outcomes as well as their plans for creating impact. As well as project specific discussions, a topic that came up across these presentations was around the learning about research practice that could potentially be drawn from across the programme. Ideas included things like guidance on best practice for engaging research participants, completing ethics applications and working across the atmospheric and clinical research communities.
Contextualising deliverables and impact pathways
(Meeting 1)
During this first meeting, the recently completed Wave 1 projects presented their key outputs, outcomes and progress, as well as their plans for creating impact from these. Feedback and discussions within the group, highlighted areas for development and key considerations for the Clean Air Champions in terms of how they support researchers to create impact both from individual projects and from across the programme.
