The Clean Air Act of 1952 was a response to the deaths of 12,000 people in the Great Smog. We have reached a new tipping point. In 2015 London’s air killed 9,500 people. Since then the situation has only gotten worse. In January many areas of London blew their maximum pollution targets for the entire year. Waiting at bus stops, cycling to work, walking to school and nipping to the park for lunch now carries a risk. On certain days in London its citizens are now warned not to venture out.
The Green Party intends to act with the speed such a crisis deserves. A new Clean Air Act for Britain, imposing the standards on polluters that we need to save the air we breathe. Major pedestrianisation, coupled with new bicycle routes creating the space for quiet, clean, safe transport for all of London’s citizens. Investment in London’s busses, with a serious push to move to an all-electric fleet. Without radical action the air in London will grow ever more lethal. With it, not only will our air be cleaner, but our City will be a safer, better place to be.
– Zachary Gomperts-Mitchelson
