Assembly response to the Mayor’s final Air Quality Strategy

Our Environment Committee is calling on the Mayor to aim even higher in his efforts to improve air quality in London if he is to help reduce the thousands of deaths linked to pollution in the capital each year.

In its response to the Mayor’s final Air Quality Strategy, the Environment Committee welcomes the focus on public health and the fact the Mayor has taken up several of its suggestions, in areas such as reducing transport emissions and improving health information.

However, the Committee suggests the Mayor should continue to improve air quality beyond European standards for the benefit of Londoners’ health, given the estimated 4,300 extra premature deaths in the capital annually linked to harmful airborne particles.

The Committee also joins the Mayor in urging the Government to devise an effective national plan to deal with nitrogen dioxide. It suggests the Mayor should then review his Air Quality Strategy and build upon London-specific measures where necessary.