BHF comment
MPs to debate air pollution in Parliament
The Environment Bill 2019-2020, which was introduced into the House of Commons in January, aims to set a “gold standard for improving air quality,” amongst other environmental concerns.
To achieve this, the Bill sets out a new framework for tackling air pollution, including the setting of more stringent air quality limits.
Today is the Bill’s Second Reading - the first opportunity for the draft legislation to be debated in the House of Commons.
We are urging MPs to strengthen the Bill by adopting the World Health Organization (WHO)’s guideline limits into UK law for fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5. The UK currently subscribes to EU legal limits on levels of PM2.5. However, these are over twice as high as the WHO’s recommended limits and don’t go far enough to protect peoples’ health.
BHF-funded research has shown that exposure to air pollution, and in particular PM2.5, can damage our heart and circulatory health in a number of ways, increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
The WHO’s stricter limits would drive the bold action at the pace and scale needed to clean up the air we breathe and help everyone live longer, healthier lives.
John Maingay, our Director of Policy and Influencing, said:
“Air pollution is a major threat to public health. Each year in the UK, up to 11,000 deaths due to a heart attack or stroke are attributable to toxic air.
“We must not let this become an inevitability. It is clear that our current legal limits for air pollution do not go far enough to protect the country’s health from dangerous fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5.
“The Environment Bill provides a golden opportunity to change that. Today’s debate must focus on how this important piece of legislation could be strengthened to truly protect people’s health. This should include adopting the World Health Organization’s stricter guideline limits into UK law to be met by 2030.
“It is only through bold action that the Government can be world leaders, by creating a healthier environment for everyone to live in, and cleaning up our toxic air for good.”