Clean Air Day petition delivered to Downing Street
Global Action Plan delivered the very first petition to Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Downing Street on Wednesday 10 July, calling on the new government to get on board with clean air.
The Clean Air Day petition – which has reached over 3,000 signatures – urges the new government to:
- Make walking, wheeling and cycling safer.
- Ensure everyone can access affordable, reliable and efficient public transport.
Global Action Plan was joined at Downing Street by influential clean air campaigner Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah - whose nine-year-old daughter Ella was the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as their cause of death – as well as musician and community clean air champion Love Ssega and Sally Newsom from parent campaign group Clean Air 4 Schools.
Clean air campaigners and cross-party MPs gather outside 10 Downing Street to deliver the Clean Air Day petition. Left to right: Sian Berry MP, Yasmine El-Gabry, Afzal Khan MP, Stella Creasy MP, Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, Sally Newsom, Love Ssega, Ellie Chowns MP.
Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, Founder and Director of The Ella Roberta Foundation commented: “Everyone in the UK deserves to breathe safe, clean air regardless of where they live. Unfortunately, this is not currently the case. Children, the elderly and people with existing health conditions are at greater risk and those of us living in urban areas are everyday breathing toxic air. It is killing us and I urge the new Prime Minister and his government to prioritise cleaning up our air by giving everyone access to cleaner and greener transport options.”
Several MPs also came to show their support for the petition, including Labour MPs Stella Creasy and Afzal Khan, and Sian Berry and Ellie Chowns from the Green Party.
Afzal Khan, MP for Manchester Rusholme said: "Air pollution is disproportionately impacting the health of people in Manchester Rusholme and across the UK. We need cleaner air for all communities, and I was delighted to join in delivering the first petition to Downing Street this week.”
Cross-party MPs came to Downing Street to show their support for the Clean Air Day petition, including Labour's Afzal Khan and Stella Creasy, and Sian Berry and Ellie Chowns of the Green Party.
This year, Clean Air Day highlighted that cars and vans are the biggest source of toxic chemicals in our air and encouraged the public to call on the next government to give everyone the option to travel in cleaner and greener ways.
The national campaign – now in its eighth year – was delivered in partnership with Health Equals, with support from Impact on Urban Health, Welsh Government, Scottish Government and Dentsu.
Yasmine El-Gabry, Senior Parliamentary Campaigns Manager at Global Action Plan said: “Air pollution is the biggest environmental threat to your health, no matter who you are or where you live. But the good news is that the solutions to our air pollution problem already exist. Whether you are 8 or 80, everyone should have the option to travel in ways that are better for our health and the planet. We need our new government to take urgent action so that everyone in the UK can breathe cleaner air, by making walking, wheeling, and cycling safer, and ensuring that we can all access reliable, affordable, and efficient public transport.
“Thousands of people across the country took action on Clean Air Day by signing our petition, and it was wonderful to celebrate this milestone by delivering the signatures directly to Downing Street. But the work is only just beginning – we must keep putting pressure on the government to prioritise tackling air pollution, so that everyone can breathe cleaner air.”
The Clean Air Day petition is still live – will you join people across the country in signing it to help us reach our next milestone?