Mayor slams Government for proposing decades of ‘dither and delay'

• The Mayor publishes his response to the Government’s consultation on new legal limits for air pollution
• Government's 2040 target condemns another generation of children to grow up with stunted lungs, asthma and a host of other health issues
• Sadiq has repeatedly called for Government to adopt World Health Organization clean air targets
• Mayor visits Great Ormond Street Hospital Play Street to help mark Clean Air Day

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has criticised ministers’ deeply disappointing and unambitious air quality targets for condemning “another generation of children” to “a host of health issues”.

On Clean Air Day (16 June), the Mayor has published his response to the Government’s consultation on new legal limits for air pollution and other environmental targets. The 2021 Environment Act gave the Government the opportunity to show leadership and set new air quality targets to protect people’s health, instead they are proposing targets that would not need to be met until 2040. A target set this far into the future consigns yet another generation of children to the lifelong health effects of early exposure to excess air pollution and embeds existing inequalities in exposure particularly for Black and ethnic minority Londoners and people on low incomes who are least likely to own a vehicle.

In 2019 the Mayor pledged to reduce fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in London in line with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) interim guidelines by 2030. With the air quality crisis already impacting Londoners health, he believes the Government should be as ambitious and aim to achieve this goal in eight years, rather than 18. In London between 2016 and 2019, the action that the Mayor has taken to improve our air quality has resulted in a reduction in toxic NO2 in central London five times the national average.

Analysis from City Hall published earlier this year showed that despite recent improvements in air quality, every hospital, medical centre and care home across the capital is located in areas that breach the recently updated WHO guidelines for nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter. Over 500,000 people in London boroughs suffer from asthma and are vulnerable to the impacts of toxic air, with more than half of these people living in outer London where the ULEZ doesn’t currently cover.

Aside from air quality, the Mayor is also concerned about the Government’s lack of ambition in targets for waste reduction, biodiversity and water quality and availability. The proposed targets for reversing biodiversity declines could in reality mean a net reduction in habitats and species and bare no relation to achieving the new local strategies for nature recovery which the Environment Act introduced. Proper implementation and enforcement of targets will be essential and Sadiq wants to see more clarity on how these additional burdens will be met.

To mark Clean Air Day Sadiq will visit Great Ormond Street Hospital’s Play Street. This project provides an opportunity for children and families to have fun in spaces usually reserved for cars. It also offers the chance to experience at a smaller scale the benefits of a greener, healthier and more people-friendly street, which is GOSH’s ultimate aim. The Mayor will join patients, parents and hospital staff to take part in activities on the street and discuss the importance of clean air on the health of children.

Great Ormond Street was one of the first ten hospitals to receive an air quality monitor as part of the Mayor’s Breathe London pilot in 2019. Data from this monitor, placed above the hospital entrance, shows that levels of harmful pollutants in the area regularly exceed both legal limits and the more stringent WHO targets.

The Breathe London network now has almost 300 active sensors, including sensors at 20 hospitals across the city, and gives all Londoners access to real- time hyperlocal data via the Breathe London website. This allows Londoners to manage exposure, monitor increases or decreases in air pollution and better campaign for action to promote clean air in their area.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “The passing of the new Environment Act last year should have provided the impetus Government needed to tackle some of the most pressing environmental concerns of our age.

“Instead, we’re being offered nothing but more dither and delay as ministers set unambitious targets that condemn yet another generation of children to the risk of developing stunted lungs, asthma and a whole host of other health issues.

“We’ve done the research, we’re taking the world-leading action, we know that here in London we can achieve the Government’s target for PM2.5 a decade earlier than they are proposing by introducing measures proven to be effective. There is no reason for national government not to match the scale of our ambition for the health of Londoners.

“The setting of targets should never be seen as an end in and of itself, but strategic and measurable targets can make a huge difference in working to protect our environment and our city’s residents from the consequences of pollution. That is why I urge ministers to think again about the scope of these targets and commit to doing much more to protect the next generation from the scourge of toxic air.”

Matthew Shaw, Great Ormond Street Hospital CEO said: “We see every day the impact that the busy, polluted road on our front doorstep has on our patients, families and staff.

“Our doctors and nurses treat children with a range of severe respiratory conditions, but on their way into the hospital that is supposed to make them better, patients are exposed to filthy air which is exacerbating their illnesses. Children should be able to come to hospital, and play outside, without being exposed to air so polluted it's not considered safe.

“At Play Street we hope to show what could be possible if we transformed our street permanently into a safe place for their patients, staff and local community to enjoy, and inspire other hospitals across the country to do the same.”

Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, BreatheLife Ambassador and Founder of the Ella Roberta Family Foundation said: "Children born today shouldn’t have to wait until they are 18 years old to have clean air.

“We know that achieving the WHO 2005 guidelines by 2030 is achievable and affordable, even within current plans and policies. Achieving targets set in 2005 by 2040, 35 years later, is too long to wait."

Larissa Lockwood, Director of Clean Air at Global Action Plan said: “We are thrilled to have the Mayor’s support of Clean Air Day in its sixth year to fight for a cleaner air future across the UK.

“We have seen the power of Clean Air Day to unite a movement, to bring confidence to talk about the importance of tackling air pollution and to push for change. Simple actions - such as Great Ormond Street’s playstreet - allows everyone to play their part in improving local air quality as well as inspiring grassroots action.

“But we can't do it alone – which is why system-wide changes like the Mayor’s ULEZ and the World Health Organization’s ambitious targets are needed to clean up the air in our communities for good.”