Inquiry launched into air quality post-pandemic

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee has launched an inquiry into air quality and whether the coronavirus pandemic can act as a catalyst for change.

The committee will look at whether the government's 2019 Clean Air Strategy and the Environment Bill will deliver the national leadership needed to tackle the UK’s poor air quality, especially given that the message to not use public transport could lead to more cars on the road.

In 2018, four Select Committees including EFRA made a number of recommendations to government in its Improving Air Quality report. Since then, emerging research has suggested poor air quality may be linked to higher death and infection rates from coronavirus. Poor air quality has also been shown to disproportionately affect disadvantaged communities; costing the UK £20 billion and 40,000 lives per year.

The committee will also address the delay in the rollout of Clean Air Zones (CAZs) as a result of the pandemic and some towns and cities’ plans to enable people to walk and cycle as the lockdown is eased.

Neil Parish, chair of the committee, said: “In the UK, there are roughly 40,000 early deaths each year linked to outdoor air pollution. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, this issue was vastly overlooked. It has now been two years since we called on the government to urgently address this crisis. Since then, we've seen the introduction of a new Clean Air Strategy and Environment Bill, but it's crucial that these frameworks are both enforceable and ambitious.

"Disadvantaged communities are affected far worse by air pollution than anyone else and recently we've seen just how serious underlying health problems can be. The pandemic is threatening to push back some of the crucial work planned for addressing poor air quality, when it is clear that it should instead be a once-in-a-lifetime catalyst for action. Therefore we are launching a new inquiry into Air Quality. As we are encouraged to walk and cycle more in the 'new normal' we have a rare opportunity to build policies which decrease air pollution, save the NHS billions, and benefit everyone.”