This post is by Varya Clark, co-founder of the Climate Acceptance Studios.
Today, the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expands dramatically. It will be eighteen times the size of the previous ULEZ, stretching all the way from the North to the South Circular roads. As Auto Express says: “If you’re unfamiliar with London, that’s most of it.”
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Dr Maria Neira, director of environment, climate change and health at WHO.
WHO’s new global air quality guidelines remind us that much of what we think of as environmental policy is actually health policy. They pull health back into the heart of discussions on air quality and prompt the question, “how much risk of damage to the electorate’s health from air pollution are we willing to live with, given what we now know?”
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This post was first published by Business Green.
Despite the challenges the world is now facing due to the coronavirus pandemic, one thing that’s become clear is that society has seen a glimmer of hope into what life could be like in a greener and cleaner society. Read more
This post is by Greg Archer, UK director at Transport and Environment
Dear Boris,
Now that you can finally “Get Brexit Done”, please could you also quickly sort out the appalling emissions from transport? It’s the UK’s biggest source of CO2 and causes 98 per cent of the country’s toxic air hotspots. Read more
The Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco earlier this month highlighted just how much city and regional leaders want to move the climate agenda forward at a time when national governments are holding back. So what are the opportunities for London to get more ambitious? Read more
This post is by Jenny Hawley, senior policy officer at Plantlife.
Debate around the government’s Clean Air Strategy has been focused on whether it will cut the roadside nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution from city traffic. But it is also supposed to take a long overdue look at other air quality issues. Read more
This post is by Gemma Wells, RSPB’s Brexit project officer.
It’s been a tumultuous time in UK politics since we voted to leave the EU a year ago. The overriding mood of the year has been uncertainty which has permeated all sectors, not least the environmental sector.
Since the majority of the laws, principles and resources that protect our environment come via the EU, the Brexit process poses a risk to our current levels of protection. Read more
This 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
This 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
Inside track 