TO BE PUBLISHED November 2026
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This conference will examine next steps for tackling air quality in England.
It will bring key stakeholders and policymakers together to examine the proposed development of new measures across domestic combustion, industry, agriculture, transport and planning to meet ambitions set out in the Air Quality Environment Act Target Delivery Plan published alongside the revised Environmental Improvement Plan in December 2025. Discussion will focus on practical considerations for stakeholders, and how national and local action might best be co-ordinated in advancing aims for cleaner air, protecting public health, and contributing to wider environmental objectives such as biodiversity and water quality.
Proposed measures & meeting targets
Delegates will assess priorities and practicalities for the delivery of targets put forward in the revised EIP and the Air Quality Environment Act Target Delivery Plan. The agenda will examine proposed controls on small industrial combustion plants, and the outcomes expected from the Government's consultation on reducing emissions from solid fuel burning - which proposed tighter smoke-emission limits for new stoves, mandatory health labelling for appliances and fuels, and increased enforcement penalties.
Discussion will also consider anticipated changes to domestic combustion regulations, including the Government's confirmation that wood-burning stoves will remain permitted as secondary heating sources under the incoming Future Homes Standard. Practical requirements for meeting both interim and long-term PM2.5 targets for 2030 and 2040 will also be discussed.
Planning, permitting & environmental governance reform
Further discussion will examine ongoing reform across planning, permitting and environmental governance, including changes to the Environmental Permitting Service and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ phased 2026-2027 consultations on modernising industrial emissions permitting, following its response in April confirming further proposals on small-scale combustion and incineration plants.
This also includes Defra’s anticipated consultation on bringing intensive beef and dairy production into the environmental permitting regime, considering concern over cost and administrative burden, as well as reform to consolidate air quality policy in the National Planning Policy Framework - with the finalised version anticipated later this year.
Delegates will consider what will be needed from national and local policy, regulation and implementation, alongside environmental protection and for effective alignment with air quality objectives.
Local delivery, data, public health & engagement
Sessions will also look at local delivery, including implementation of updated Local Air Quality Management reporting requirements, priorities for Air Quality Action Plans: 2026-2030, and capacity, data and enforcement issues raised by the Environmental Audit Committee's ongoing Air Pollution in England inquiry. Discussion will also consider public engagement and public health priorities, including communication of pollution risks, targeted interventions for vulnerable groups, and approaches to reducing exposure in pollution hotspots.
Transport, urban policy & wider decarbonisation
We also expect discussion on wider and longer-term policy priorities, including developments in transport and urban policy such as low emission zones, cleaner heating and vehicle electrification - with the ZEV mandate quota for new car sales rising to 33% in 2026, alongside the reinstated 2030 phase-out of new petrol and diesel car sales.
The relationship between air quality objectives and wider decarbonisation strategies for transport, energy use and the built environment will also be explored.
Overview of areas for discussion
- policy:
- interim and long-term PM2.5 targets for 2030 and 2040 - proposed controls on small industrial combustion plants
- outcomes of the Government's consultation on reducing emissions from solid fuel burning
- anticipated changes to domestic combustion regulation, including the future of wood-burning stoves under the Future Homes Standard
- co-ordination:
- alignment of air quality objectives across domestic combustion, industry, agriculture, transport and planning
- wider environmental priorities, including biodiversity and water quality
- planning and permitting:
- implications of reform to the Environmental Permitting Service and the phased 2026-2027 industrial emissions permitting programme
- environmental governance for development priorities - accelerated housebuilding - practical considerations for planning and infrastructure decisions under the revised NPPF
- anticipated Defra consultation on extending environmental permitting to intensive beef and dairy production - associated cost and compliance concerns for the farming sector
- local delivery:
- updated Local Air Quality Management reporting requirements - new monitoring templates and bias adjustment factors - priorities for updating Air Quality Action Plans: 2026-2030
- capacity and engagement:
- local authority capabilities - data and enforcement considerations - emerging findings from the Environmental Audit Committee's Air Pollution in England inquiry
- approaches to strengthening public information, warning systems, dashboards and community engagement
- public health and longer-term policy:
- low emission zones - vehicle electrification and escalating ZEV mandate - transport decarbonisation - communication of pollution risks
- targeted interventions for vulnerable groups - place-based approaches to reducing exposure to harmful pollutants
