Economic analysis
What is the IGCB(A)
The core objective of the Interdepartmental Group on Costs and Benefits – air quality subject group (IGCB(A)) is to develop, maintain and disseminate methodologies for producing evidence to inform decisions which impact on air quality. These methodologies are recommended best practice for valuing changes in air quality.
The IGCB can also provide comprehensive analysis of all the relevant costs and benefits of major air quality policies such as the Air Quality Strategy (AQS), Air Quality Directive (AQD) and National Emissions Ceiling Directive (NECD).
Air pollution has direct adverse impacts upon human health and the environment as well as long-term impacts through climate change. The IGCB(A) focus is on the appraisal methodology for the first two impacts on human health and the environment.
- More information on the appraisal of climate change impacts of air pollution is available.
In 2008 air pollution in the form of anthropogenic particulate matter (PM) alone was estimated to reduce average life expectancy in the UK by around six months. Thereby imposing an estimated equivalent health cost of £19 billion in 2008.
However, it has been argued that this estimate is conservative as it only reflects the long term chronic impact on life expectancy from fine particles and does not include a range of other health impacts, such as acute mortality, morbidity or indirect health impacts.
These webpages outline the methodologies developed by the IGCB(A) and provides tools to aid their application. There are two broad methods that are recommended by the IGCB: the impact pathway approach which is only used for decisions with major air quality impacts, and the abatement cost approach which is used where legally binding objectives are in danger of being breeched.
The impact-pathway approach is recommended best practice however it is resource intensive thus the IGCB(A) has produced a set of damage costs which give monetary values for the emission of a tonne of pollutant. These should be used when the estimated impacts of a proposal on air qulaity are less than £20 million and when the impacts will last for less than 20 years.
The flow diagram below can be used to decide which method is the most appropriate from a given application.
Overview of Air Quality Evaluation Methodologies
Further information
Contact
Inter-Departmental Group on the Costs and Benefits of Air Quality (IGCB(A))
Natural Environment Economics
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
Area 3D, Ergon House
C/O 17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR
Email: igcb@defra.gsi.gov.uk