Tag Archives: Air pollution

The quick fix to the toxic air crisis? Make the polluter pay

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11422536206_ccd9ad9e21_kThis post is by Greg Archer, director, clean vehicles at Transport & Environment.

After being forced to announce its controversial plans to tackle air pollution, ministers have been quick to blame the previous government for the mess caused by encouraging diesel car sales. But ministers have repeatedly refused to point the finger, or act against the true culprit, the car industry, that has for years sold cars that pass lab tests but often produce ten times or more pollution on the road. As a result, they have contributed to the toxic air that is killing up to 40,000 people a year in the UK. Read more

Solutions to air pollution have to work for everyone

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transport_blogThis post is by Helen Hayes MP for Dulwich and West Norwood.

It’s estimated that toxic air pollution from diesel vehicles in London is responsible for over 9,000 premature deaths a year, and it disproportionately affects school children and the most vulnerable members of our communities. Brixton Road, in my constituency, exceeded its annual air pollution limit just five days into 2017. The Mayor of London has made the battle against this invisible killer a top priority for his term and has succeeded in getting it onto both the national and local political agendas. Read more

California dreaming? Environmental lessons for Brexit Britain from the ‘left coast’

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Bixby Creek Bridge on Highway #1 at the US West Coast traveling south to Los AngelesJohn Steinbeck described the California I grew up in as ‘a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream.’ The golden state has always loomed large in the imagination but, in my early years, much of the stink and quality of light was literal: my dad, a Los Angeles native, used to joke that he didn’t trust air he couldn’t see. That’s how bad the air pollution was.

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Legal action is a last, but necessary, resort

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no2dirtyair-at-royal-courts-of-justice-11No 10’s former energy and environment adviser, Stephen Heidari-Robinson, suggested on Inside Track that ClientEarth’s legal action against the government would obstruct progress on air pollution. This response is by James Thornton, CEO of ClientEarth. 

Why do governments get taken to court?
My view, as an environmental lawyer dedicated to the public interest, is simple enough. Legal action ensures that governments comply with the law and act in the best interests of the environment, the country and its citizens. Read more

A strategy to solve air inequality and keep Britain moving

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leedsThis post is by Stephen Heidari-Robinson, former energy and environment adviser to David Cameron.

Unlike smog, today’s air pollution is an invisible killer: according to the Royal College of Physicians, 40,000 Britons die from it each year, twenty times the number killed in road accidents. Children are the most vulnerable: research suggests that their long term health and learning both suffer. Read more

My proposals for a Greener London: Caroline Pidgeon

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p1733032826-o550140132-3.jpgLast month we launched Greener London with eight other environmental organisations, a set of 20 practical actions for the next mayor that together would make London a greener, fairer and better place to live and work.

In the lead up to the London mayoral election, we are publishing blogs from candidates which will lay out their plans for a Greener London.

Today we hear from Liberal Democrat candidate Caroline Pidgeon.

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My proposals for a Greener London: Zac Goldsmith MP

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Zac headshot.jpgLast month we launched Greener London with eight other environmental organisations, a set of 20 practical actions for the next mayor that together would make London a greener, fairer and better place to live and work.

In the lead up to the London mayoral election, we are publishing blogs from candidates which will lay out their plans for a Greener London.

Today we hear from Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith MP.

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My proposals for a Greener London: Sadiq Khan MP

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Sadiq headshotLast month we launched Greener London with eight other environmental organisations, a set of 20 practical actions for the next mayor that together would make London a greener, fairer and better place to live and work.

Starting today, with exactly a month to go until the London mayoral election, we will be publishing blogs from candidates which will lay out their plans for a Greener London.

Today we hear from Labour candidate Sadiq Khan MP.

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Boris’s big failure: why is London still killing its citizens?

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Emissions of a starting diesel engineA little over five years ago, my daughter was born in central London, in an area where the nearest air quality monitoring station recorded particulates as having reached dangerous levels 55 times that year. When 35 bad days are exceeded, the UK falls foul of European air rules, which means it faces court cases and fines until the problem is rectified. Read more

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