Why the government’s new air quality target is not good enough
What we know
Every year in the UK 36,000 people die from air pollution, there are over 20,000 respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions, and six million sick days are caused by air pollution.
The UK government has updated its targets under the Environment Act with a PM₂.₅ annual concentration target of 10 µg/m₃, to be met across England by 2040.
PM₂.₅ is one of the most dangerous pollutants as it is so small, it can more easily enter our bodies and wreak havoc on our organs.
Why Global Action Plan disagrees with the target
More damaged health and suffering - by the Government’s own acknowledgement, air pollution is the biggest environmental threat to health in the UK. Delaying action on air pollution until 2040 is another eighteen years of adverse consequences for UK citizens, and another generation of children whose health and educational opportunities will be permanently and irreversibly damaged.
There is a public mandate for action - according to regular nationally representative survey, over 80% of people now believe that air pollution should be a priority for the UK, across the political spectrum. This is an increase of 11% over the last 3 years.
It’s costing us money - by the Government’s own calculations, the health and social care costs of air pollution in England could reach £18.6 billion by 2035.
What we want the target to be
We propose lowering the level of PM2.5 and bringing forward the target date by ten years to 2030 in line with the World Health Organisation’s 2021 revised guidelines - PM₂.₅ annual concentration target of 5 µg/m₃, to be met across England by 2030.
Why it should be this target
Air pollution is a global issue with globally approved guideline values - Air quality is an issue that necessitates international alignment, to ensure each country is striving towards an aligned goal that will help the planet reduce pollution. The WHO Air Quality Guidelines (2021) are the global standard, evidence-based and given robust and rigorous peer review, and they recommend 5 µg/m₃ PM2.5 as the air quality guideline. Essentially, the WHO’s Air Quality Guidelines are written for governments to adopt.
Furthermore, in 2021, the ruling of the Ella Kissi Debrah case highlighted that air pollution was a contributing cause of her untimely death at nine years old in 2013, following a fatal asthma attack. The coroner issued a Matter of Concern to the UK government: “The evidence at the inquest was that there is no safe level for Particulate Matter and that the WHO guidelines should be seen as minimum requirements."
A target date of 2030 will help protect the health and lives of millions of people across the UK, and supports the pathway to net zero. 2040 is simply too late.