Air Quality Action at Northern Powerhouse

Last Friday MPs, councillors, air quality experts, campaigners, Client Earth, interested parties and I met at an IPPR meeting on the theme of "Air Pollution: what can be done?"

Most of us were from the north of England.

With air pollution hitting high and medium levels across the UK and the government with no clear air quality strategy, a useful discussion was held on the way forward.

I said that getting people to walk, cycle and take public transport was not enough, especially if, like in York, diesel busses are part of the problem.

Nor are Euro VI diesel based Clean Air Zones in a few cities the answer.

We need national policy on fuel incentives and taxation including VED, to move people from diesel (and petrol) to ultra low emission vehicles.

We also need local low emission strategies, like York's, to tackle emissions from all sources (especially NoX, PM and CO2) such as transport, fleet, planning & development, energy use and procurement.

The biggest polluters (the polluter pays principle) should be the priority for action: e.g. diesel buses, followed by diesel taxis in York, with local policies including infrastructure, incentives and, if necessary, CAZs.