Thermal Propulsion Systems Research, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford - Air Quality

Air quality matters to all of us, and historically our Group's research activities have been dedicated to the development of the fundamental science necessary to enable substantial emissions reductions and efficiency improvements in next generation vehicles. Recently however, we have become increasingly concerned about the unintended consequences of public policy on emissions from vehicles.

For example, the post-'dieselgate' demonization of the diesel engine has led to an increase in UK vehicle CO2 emissions in 2017 - the first time that CO2 emissions have risen in over two decades. The London Ultra Low Emission Zone, coming into force in 2019, while placing heavy restrictions on diesel vehicles allows for unlimited particulate emissions from gasoline vehicles and motorbikes. 

We believe these policies, although well meaning, to be misguided and ill-informed and hence ineffective (read our Group led comment on the death of the internal combustion engine here, and the Group's Dr Felix Leach commenting on the London Ultra Low Emission Zone here).

We have also noted recent instances of sound scientific data being grossly misrepresented in the public domain. The Daily Mail tells us that  air pollution kills 40,000 people each year in the UK, the University of Cambridge's Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication digs into the data and tells us something quite different.