Today the government has announced new clean air targets for levels of fine particulate matter pollution (the most harmful type to human health) in England. These new targets will be reached by 2040 – a decade after the charity was campaigning for.
The government was legally bound to announce these targets by 31 October 2022, which means this announcement has been made more than six weeks late.
Responding to the government’s announcement of new air pollution targets, 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 our supporters and other charities across the sector, the government has not listened to our calls to bring forward its compliance date and instead will ask MPs to vote on their proposals to make our air cleaner by 2040. This falls far short of what’s needed – it means that for another 18 years children will be forced to live, learn and play in toxic levels of air pollution.
“The government has been dragging its heels on tackling air pollution for too long. Now, by proposing to delay compliance until 2040, we fear a new generation will be condemned to breathe in air so dirty it can stunt lung growth, cause lung conditions like cancer and trigger existing conditions including asthma. It’s disappointing the government could not be more ambitious, but the fight is not over. With these new targets now published we hope the government will devise a plan on how we can reach the targets as quickly as possible and introduce bolder interim targets.”