There was a sombre atmosphere in Westminster Hall as MPs debated clean air laws, as they repeatedly made reference to the tragic death of nine-year-old Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who became the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed on her death certificate as a cause of death.
MPs paid tribute to Ella’s mother, Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah. She has become a prominent campaigner for clean air, fighting for “Ella’s Law”, which would legally recognise the right to breathe clean air.
Opening the debate, Labour MP Barry Gardiner said that air pollution remains a “silent, invisible killer”, the cause of approximately 43,000 premature deaths every year in the UK. He argued that knife crime and road accidents attract more political action, while the higher death toll of polluted air goes largely unnoticed.
Gardiner said that new Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) figures show increases in harmful pollutants.
Levels of PM2.5 and PM10 particulate matter rose significantly at roadside monitoring stations, suggesting current targets and policies are not having their intended effect.
Tanya Billings, a clean air activist who watched the debate, said that the MPs were correct to point out that clean air is a social justice issue.
“Poorer communities are more likely to live near busy roads. Tackling poisonous air has to be part of the Government’s broader efforts to reduce health inequalities,” she said.
She said that she is passionate about improving air quality because vulnerable groups such as children, older people and pregnant women bear the greatest health burden.
Tanya was disappointed that at the end of the debate, Environment Minister Stephen Morgan accepted the pertinence of air pollution in discussions of public health but suggested that existing legislation provides a sufficient legal framework for improving air quality and meeting current targets.
“Its frustrating really, we know current targets and policies aren’t doing enough. But at least it’s being discussed. We need to keep this at the top of the agenda as much as we can.”
Featured image credit: Wkimedia Commons
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