Today the House of Lords has passed new laws that set new clean air targets for levels of fine particulate pollution (the most harmful type to human health). These new targets must be reached by 2040.
Responding to the new law, Sarah Woolnough, CEO at Asthma + Lung UK, said:
“Air pollution is a public health emergency which causes 36,000 premature deaths in the UK every year. Having new legal targets to reduce pollution levels puts us on a path towards cleaner air, however that path is set to be much longer than we had hoped.
“Despite a valiant effort from the charity’s supporters, the government has ignored our calls to bring forward its compliance date, and instead has said it will make our air cleaner by 2040. This falls far short of what’s needed – it means that for another 17 years children will be forced to live, learn and play in toxic levels of air pollution, and a new generation will be condemned to breathe in air so dirty it can stunt their lung growth, cause lung conditions like cancer and trigger existing conditions including asthma.
“So far the government’s approach to cleaning our air has been characterised by long delays and a lack of ambition, and we now fear the government’s 2040 compliance date is repeating this pattern. This will cost lives. We urge the government to develop a plan to tackle this public health emergency head on and reach its new legal targets as quickly as possible.”