Empowering representatives of under-heard communities living in polluted neighbourhoods facing intersecting social and racial injustice issues to raise their voices in shaping policy.
Global Action Plan has high impact connections to really help raise marginalised voices.
Love Ssega, Clean Air New Voice, South London
Before I became a part of the Clean Air New Voices group, I was feeling quite powerless and hopeless in terms of combatting air pollution in my area. The project sent me on a voyage of discovery ….. and I started to feel really hopeful.
Katy Clarke, Clean Air New Voice
The greatest air pollution is found in the poorest and in the least white communities in England’s towns and cities.1
Global Action Plan’s vision is of connected, low-carbon communities, where people breathe clean air at home and in their local neighbourhood.
Our approach is to take action to influence. We take action with communities and our partners to address climate-related problems today and in doing so, influence systems for a more just and sustainable future.
With funding from Trust for London we brought together Clean Air New Voices, a group made up of individuals, community groups, and organisations from across London. The New Voices group represent many of the communities most impacted by air pollution, who are often least likely to be creating the pollution themselves – highlighting the deep inequalities at the heart of this issue.
Through the programme these groups were able to share their ideas with the clean air movement, and more broadly, their voices were heard by local, regional and national decision makers - from council meetings to 10 Downing Street, the New Voices are calling for more political ambition to tackle air pollution.
We must make the space for those underrepresented to voice what solutions are needed, which is why funding this new group is essential.
Afzal Khan, MP for Manchester Rusholme
The campaign is brilliant. Really great opportunity, glad that we can be a part of it. This is an important steppingstone to making sure the air in our community is cleaner for everybody. This is especially so for a community with such a large elderly or young population. Cleaner air means healthier and happier people in our community.
Project champion, Barnet
70+
listening exercises conducted by Clean Air New voices across London boroughs, to collect views on air pollution communities and call for a Clean Air Mayor in the 2024 elections
Read our Clean Air New Voices project report
The Clean Air New Voices created a clean air manifesto for London’s mayoral candidates in the 2024 election
Everyone in London is exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution, and the most deprived communities live in the most polluted areas. London needs a Clean Air Mayor.
I was encouraged by how far Global Action Plan was able to get with involving “New Voices” with political activism around air quality, including speaking at the Labour Party Conference and the Citizens UK London Mayoral hustings. The New Voices are Londoners from communities who are less commonly heard in environmental debates, but who are disproportionately affected by poor air quality.
Susie Dye, Trust for London
Thank you to Trust for London for their support with this project
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