We gave clean air the platform it deserves at COP26
Philippa Borrowman, our senior policy and public affairs officer for clean air, tells us about the clean air event hosted by Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation during the global climate conference COP26 in Glasgow.
The global climate conference, COP26, which took place at the beginning of November, provided world leaders the opportunity to agree on how we can collaborate to urgently prevent global warming. There were many successes during the conference, but disappointingly, air pollution, and the impacts it can have on human health and the environment, was pushed down the agenda.
Our event in Glasgow gave clean air a platform
There were however still groups and campaigners there who were passionately talking about the issue and stressing the need for it to be treated as a priority.
Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation hosted a stand at COP26, while we also held a local event in Glasgow. This event brought together a panel of clean air campaigners, policymakers, and academics, to discuss the difference that could be made by tackling the health crisis caused by air pollution alongside the climate crisis, attended by campaigners already taking action in their communities from across the UK.
Below are some of the highlights from the event, emphasising the urgent need for cleaner air to become a key pillar of climate action in the UK.
Air pollution hits the most vulnerable the hardest
We’re all affected differently, dependent on where we live, our lifestyle choices and the way we travel. We all have different exposure profiles, and we all breathe in different levels of air pollutants, as Dr Heather Price from the University of Sterling outlined.
Across the UK, road transport impacts some of the most vulnerable the hardest. As John Lauder from the charity Sustrans noted, a third of people in Scotland don’t own a car, yet air pollution predominantly originates from transport.
And Maksim, a young clean air campaigner from Manchester, made clear the devastating impacts that air pollution is having on the health of him and his fellow school friends, particularly as he has seen an increasing number of inhalers needed for the children with asthma in his school.
Cars can no longer dominate city centres
Councillor Jennifer Layden from Glasgow pointed out that our cities give far too much space for cars. In order for us to transition to a cleaner, greener and fairer society, we also need to give more space to pedestrians. To do this, local politicians need to listen to the voices of everyone unfairly impacted by air pollution, and properly support people to change their behaviour, as Joe Swift from the Environment Agency pointed out.
And while policies to reduce the number of the cars on the road are often unpopular, strong political leadership is needed by leaders to make the radical changes which we need to see to clean up our air. This was demonstrated by Birmingham City Council which recently implemented an ambitious clean air zone, pushed through by panellist Councillor Waseem Zaffar.
Action to tackle air pollution will have positive results for our health and the climate
Already, changes being made by local leaders in city centres are having positive impacts on reducing traffic. In Glasgow, a trial of car free zones around schools has seen around a 70% reduction of cars, with this now being extended to an additional 20 schools due to the scheme’s success. As MSP Monica Lennon highlighted, the free bus travel for all young people in Scotland from January 2022 will be a positive step in incentivising a switch away from private cars.
But the current disjointed approach to improve air quality and address climate change is disheartening for many clean air campaigners across the country. As Julia noted, the planning application to approve a car park next to her son’s school was done on the same day that Manchester City Council declared a climate emergency. And on a bigger scale, the lack of acknowledgement of clean air during the COP26 climate talks is concerning.
Switching to electric vehicles isn’t the only solution
While announcements were made during COP26 that countries around the world will work to increase the uptake of electric vehicles, this can’t be seen as a silver bullet to tackling climate change. As Dr Suzanne Bartington made clear, not everything that reduces carbon emissions will clean up our air, with electric vehicles being a key example of this as they still generate harmful pollutants.
The consensus from those at the event was clear the health of local communities must be seen as a priority in all future climate policies, to ensure a fair transition to a cleaner and greener society.
If you’re interested in finding out more, you can find out more about our clean air campaigning here.
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