Environmental Protection UK - EGM Update Feb 2012
UNANIMITY ON FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION UK AT EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
MEMBERS CONFIRM COMMITMENT TO THE CHARITY AS A NATIONAL VOICE ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
The Extraordinary General Meeting of EPUK, held in London on 24th January, revealed a remarkable degree of unanimity among the large number of members who attended or registered their views by proxy vote.
The meeting accepted the recommendation of the Trustees that current financial conditions made it impractical to sustain the service company through which most of the charity's conference, training and information programmes have been provided in recent years, and recognised that this would inevitably restrict the range of EPUK's activities over the coming months.
However, those attending the meeting were clear that this should not be allowed to undermine the key role that the organisation has played for many decades, including
· As the leading voice in the UK for improving air quality and reducing its damaging impact on human health and ecosystems;
· As the leading voice in the UK for the development of policy and practice for the control and management of noise pollution;
· Providing a forum for land quality and contaminated land experts to facilitate the implementation of the contaminated land regime;
· Providing a forum for developing co-operation and consensus among key stakeholders – scientists and academics, national and local authority regulators, and industry and business.
Speaking after the meeting, Paul Cooney, Chair of the Trustees said:
"The heavy continuing toll of advanced deaths from air pollution – and the recent failure of the UK to achieve European air quality standards – demonnstrate vividly the continuing need for a strong national voice for improving air quality in the UK.
"EPUK and its predecessors have provided that voice for more than a century. If it is to continue to do so, the sad loss of skilled professional staff entailed by the EGM decisions will need to be compensated by increased voluntary commitment by members and a more focussed business plan. From the response at the meeting at the end of last month I have no doubt and our strong reputation dictates that such a commitment will be forthcoming.
"The meeting requested the Trustees to begin consultations on an Action Plan designed to develop the work of the charity on a revised basis which draws fully on the continuing strengths of the charity, notably in its branch network, scientific and policy advisors and specialist committees. We have a further meeting in early March when it is hoped that the process of transfer can be discussed and agreed."
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Combined Heat and Power and Air Quality Guidance for Local Authorities
Environmental Protection UK and the London Borough of Camden are pleased to announce the release of guidance for local authorities on Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and air quality.
The guidance and all documents are available here
This finalised guidance incorporates feedback received on the draft documents released for consultation in December 2011.
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The Healthy Air Campaignhas launched a film in response to a report by MPs that heavily criticises the government for its failure to act on air pollution which is attributable to 29,000 premature deaths each year in the UK.
Watch the film here
The film features ITV weather presenter Clare Nasir, ambassador for the campaign, and Caroline Lucas MP, a member of the Environmental Audit Select Committee that produced the damning report last week. It explains the health impacts of air pollution and calls for urgent action to cut it.
Clare Nasir, who lives with her family in London, is concerned about the impact air pollution is having on her young daughter. Clare says, "Pollution levels are too high. On some days you can almost see the smog in the air but actually a lot of it is invisible and I didn't realise that. People need to be aware of what we're being exposed to."
Lewis Merdler, Healthy Air Campaign manager, says, "We want everyone to watch this film and share it with their friends and family. Over 29,000 people die prematurely every year due to the affects of air pollution and children are growing up with damaged lungs. Yet very few people realise air pollution is a still problem and could, right at this moment, be having a detrimental impact on their health."
"We need people to sign up to support the Healthy Air Campaign so that we can show the government that people care about this very much. There are easy steps this government could be taking to tackle air pollution and we need urgent action from them."
The short film can be viewed on the Healthy Air Campaign website: www.healthyair.org.uk where people can also sign up to pledge your support for the campaign.
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