About this event

Emissions from road vehicles are a significant cause of air pollution in urban environments, degrading the quality of the air we breathe and damaging our health. Tackling this problem is a significant challenge as the number of vehicles on our roads grows year on year.

You are warmly invited to join us for a workshop that will provide evidence-informed insight into Low Emission Zones / Clean Air Zones, an increasingly adopted policy measure designed to improve air quality in urban areas by restricting the use of heavily polluting vehicles.

As of 2022, there are over 300 Low Emission Zones in cities across Europe. How do they work? Do they reduce air pollution and improve public health? And are they the right solution for tackling road vehicle pollution in cities?

This workshop will explore these and other questions through presentations from expert speakers and discussions, drawing on the latest scientific evidence to provide attendees with informed, actionable insights into the design, implementation and effectiveness of Low Emission Zones.

Audience

The event will be of particular interest to (but not limited to) those from across the public sector, policy, third sector, and academia, including those engaged with air quality, the urban environment, infrastructure, transport, planning, and public health.

Numbers are limited so please book now to reserve your place.

Key Information

  • – Date and Time: Tuesday 20 May 2025, 10am – 3.45pm (registration starts from 9:30)
  • – Location: The Boardroom/Chairman’s Office, Titanic Hotel Belfast
  • – In-person only
  • – Free to attend
  • – Lunch provided (please let us know about any dietary requirements on the registration form)
  • – For any queries, please contact Neil Rowland N.Rowland@qub.ac.uk

Agenda

09:30 Registration and coffee

10:00 Dr Neil Rowland (Queen’s University Belfast), Welcome and Housekeeping

10:10 Presenter TBC Introductory Remarks

Session 1: Background & Implementation.

Chair: Dr Douglas Booker (University of Leeds)

10:25 Dr Gary Fuller (Imperial College London), History, Myths and Evidence

10:55 Presenter TBC, Clean Air Zones – new practical guidance for cities

11:25 Coffee break

Session 2: Evaluation & Future Considerations.

Chair: Matthew Clark (Hertfordshire County Council)

11:45 DEFRA/DfT Joint Air Quality Unit, JAQU’s approach to assessing and evaluating local clean air plans

12:15 Professor Francis Pope (University of Birmingham), Toward Smarter LEZs: Optimising Urban Air Quality Now and in the Future

12:45 Lunch

Session 3: Lessons Learned & Health Impacts.

Chair: Dr Babak Jahanshahi (Queen’s University Belfast)

13:30 Professor Rosie McEachan (Born in Bradford, Bradford Institute for Health Research), Taking a deep breath: Lessons learned from Bradford’s experience of implementing and evaluating a Clean Air Zone

14:00 Dr Rosemary Chamberlain (UK Health Security Agency), Health Impacts of Low Emission Zones: Global Evidence

14:30 Coffee break

Session 4: Open Discussion.

Chair: Dr Suzanne Bartington (University of Birmingham)

14:50 Questions:

  • Synergies: What else needs to be in place to maximise benefits of LEZs/CAZs?
  • Equity: How can the transition be achieved without adversely affecting the poorest in society?
  • Belfast: Is a LEZ or CAZ right for Belfast or similar-sized cities?
  • Unintended or Unanticipated Effects: What about congestion and particulate emissions?

15:35 Dr Gary Fuller (Imperial College London), Summing up

15:45 Close

Register here
Back to all