Don’t take a deep breath
Polluted
air causes problems for water quality and biodiversity, but most of all it’s an
issue because it kills.
According
to new British Heart Foundation (BHF) report, We’re full of it, every year up to 11,000 UK deaths from
heart and circulatory diseases can be attributed to air pollution.
More
broadly research published by the Royal College of Physicians
and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, back in 2016, showed
that around 40,000 deaths per year in the UK were linked to poor outdoor air
quality. With indoor air pollution being an additional issue.
These are
pretty shocking statistics. And they’re not the only ones available.
With
increasing awareness of how poor air quality affects the most vulnerable in our
society, many are demanding changes. Right now.
Organisations
and individuals are spreading the word on dangers of poor air quality and putting
pressure on Government to improve legislation. Some campaigns to check out
include:
Whilst the Government’s
2019 Clean Air Strategy was seen to fall short of the
commitments needed, the Environment Bill is currently passing through
Parliament providing a fresh focus for lobbying efforts.
CIWEM is
proud to be part of the Healthy Air Campaign, led by ClientEarth, who are
working hard to make safe, clean air a reality for all. Our top asks are:
- a legally binding commitment to
achieve World Health Organization (WHO) guideline levels of PM2.5 pollution by
2030 at the very latest
- robust plans for meeting binding
targets, and
- a new ‘clean air duty’ on all public
bodies to contribute to improving air quality.
To find out
more about these priorities, you can read the full second reading briefing.
With the
current Government majority, securing amendments to the Environment Bill won’t
be easy. If you’re looking to make a difference to our air quality you could write to your MP to ask them to support air quality
amendments. If you’re most interested in getting WHO guidelines adopted and
delivered you might like to use the BHF e-activist template.
The
Environment Bill provides an opportunity for the Government to become world
leaders in tackling air pollution, benefitting both society and the economy,
but amendments are needed to make sure they don’t miss it.
Sarah Anderton
25/02/2020