General Election 2024
The general election is finally here. This is our chance to stand up for our children and vote for clean air, climate action and a better, healthier future for us all. We want to ensure that strong action to tackle air pollution is at the top of the agenda.
We’re calling on the next Government to:
Implement a robust Clean Air Act, that commits to reducing air pollution to interim World Health Organization guidelines by 2030 at the latest, with a pathway to full alignment across the country as soon as possible.
Launch a far-reaching public health campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of wood burning and disincentivise the purchase of stoves.
Provide funds and resources to roll out the School Streets scheme widely across the country.
Our asks in detail:
1. Implement a robust Clean Air Act, that commits to reducing air pollution to interim World Health Organization guidelines by 2030 at the latest, with a pathway to full alignment across the country as soon as possible.
The next government must implement a Clean Air Act that establishes the human right to breathe clean air, precisely and explicitly in UK law.
This Act must require the UK to ensure that air pollution is lowered to at least interim World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines by 2030 across the country, and confirm a commitment to full alignment with the WHO guidelines in the shortest time frame.
The health-based WHO guidelines for air pollution, revised in 2021, are far more stringent than current UK legal limits and are based on thousands of articles evidencing that air pollution harms health at significantly lower levels than previously understood. Even the interim targets set by the WHO, at 10ug/m3 fine particle pollution (PM2.5) and 20ug/m3 nitrogen dioxide (NO2), are significantly lower than current UK limits.
Different EU bodies are proposing the same levels to be achieved by the EU Member States by 2030.
Committing to these guidelines will realistically require diesel vehicles and the burning of wood to be phased out:
Diesel engines are the largest transport source of roadside nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the UK (figure 6, page 10). In order to reduce NOx and NO2 levels sufficiently to reach the WHO guideline levels, we need the government to discourage people from buying diesel vehicles and to set a target for England to be diesel-free by 2030, with limited exemptions.
Wood burning is a major contributor to toxic particle pollution in the UK. The next government must phase out of the sale of new wood stoves and burning overall in domestic settings where alternative modes of heating are feasible, by 2028. In the interim, new and effective powers and funding need to be given to local authorities and Mayors to stop unlawful burning. The current powers to address burning in smoke control zones are completely ineffective.
2. Launch a far-reaching public health campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of wood burning and disincentivise the purchase of stoves.
In the UK, domestic combustion is one of the biggest sources of PM2.5, and PM2.5 is probably the most harmful air pollutant, being associated with a range of conditions, including decreased lung development and function, exacerbation of asthma, allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, pulmonary fibrosis and an increased risk of lung cancer. Overall levels of PM2.5 across the country don’t take into account the toxically high levels of pollution emitted by wood burning in open fires or stoves that regularly enter neighbouring homes and gardens.
Emissions of PM2.5 from domestic wood burning have grown in recent years, partly due to wood burning being successfully marketed as a sustainable lifestyle choice and framed as an aesthetically pleasing home heating option.
The next government must deliver a properly funded, national wood burning awareness campaign, to inform and educate consumers on the impacts of burning with the clear aim of disincentivising the public from buying and installing burners. This should include national billboards, print media, online media, social media and television. In 2023, too much of the Defra-funded awareness raising was aimed at asking consumers to “burn better” whilst the sale of wood burning stoves is soaring.
3. Provide funds and resources to roll out the School Streets scheme widely across the country.
All children deserve a healthy and safe start to the day. School Streets are proven to reduce traffic and increase safety, not only that but travelling actively to school improves mood, behaviour and confidence, increases attention levels and enhances performance.
There has been a huge rise in the number of School Streets in London since 2020, with more and more local authorities taking up the scheme outside London. This progress needs to accelerate so that millions of children can benefit from cleaner air around their schools, including secondary schools.
The next government should create national guidance and resources for local authorities that map out best practice methods for implementing a School Street, to allow a quick and seamless roll-out of the scheme widely across England. This should be coupled with adequate funding to enable School Streets to be implemented and enforced, without the need to rely on volunteer parents, carers or school staff, as in often the case at the moment.
Alternative options for those schools that cannot have a School Street need to be factored in to the allocation of resources and funding - this could include funding for green screens to reduce the level of pollution within the school grounds, or for moving school entrances and playgrounds.
Take part in our ten second email campaign to keep air pollution on the agenda.
Will you write to Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer to ask them to take action?
Image: ComposedPix/Shutterstock.com
Image: Martin Suker/Shutterstock.com
Click on the buttons above to access a pre-filled-out email template that will open a new email on your email programme. All you need to do is fill in your name, then press send (there can be issues with Outlook on laptops or computers, the workaround is to use another email programme unfortunately).
