test by Spacehouse

TIME TO FLY:

Air taxis are coming!

THE BIG INTERVIEW:

Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah

MAKING CLEAN AIR AN ASSET FOR ALL

Clean Air Zones

EV Charging

Uniting what’s next in traffic.

We are connecting the dots of a new mobility revolution that is transforming our towns and cities.

With the broadest end-to-end portfolio of intelligent traffic management solutions, we work with cities, highway authorities and mobility

operators to make their road networks and fleets

and

It’s

Welcome to Air Quality News Magazine – Issue 25.

Contacts

Publisher: David Harrison

E: d.harrison@spacehouse.co.uk

T: 01625 614 000

Editor:

Paul Day

E: paul@spacehouse.co.uk

T: 01625 614 000

Business Development Manager: Jason Hall

E: jason@spacehouse.co.uk

T: 07889 212414

Air Quality News Magazine published by Spacehouse Ltd, Pierce House, Pierce Street, Macclesfield. SK11 6EX.

Tel: 01625 614 000

Since the last issue of Air Quality News we have finalised the date and venue for this year’s National Air Quality Conference. The event will take place on November 6th at Prospero House, which is located near London Bridge, Borough Market, and directly opposite Borough Station. Hope to see you there.

I’m delighted to say that we have some extremely big-hitters contributing articles to this, the 25th edition of the magazine.

Our Big Interview is with Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah who is unquestionably the best known clean air advocate in the UK and she has a lot to say.

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) is part of the European Union’s Earth Observation Programme. In this issue they explain how the data they collect is used by policymakers and health officials to produce science-based health policy in relation to air pollution.

In a not-unrelated contribution, Dr Jonathan M. Tan from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, explains how his team are using AccuWeather’s high-resolution data on factors such as air quality to address questions about the impact of environmental exposures on children.

Our Common Air is a new global commission chaired by former New Zealand PM Helen Clark and former Chief Scientist of the World Health Organization Soumya Swaminathan. Clean Air Fund’s Jane Burston, one of its commissioners, explains what the commission hopes to achieve.

The Environmental Research Group at Imperial College London is at the forefront of air quality research. They now run a two-day course for people wanting to know more about the subject and we discuss it with Diana Varaden.

Our other contributor this issue is Fiona Coull who has been exploring the potential benefits of using the Thames – rather than roads -to move goods around the capital.

Our in-house team of Simon, Martin and Emily have, respectively, written about eVTOL (air taxis to you and me), Ecocide and a series of new films focusing on the realities of living in unsuitable accommodation.

Paul Day | Editor

PAGES 14-17

Taking to the Water

The Cross River Partnership explain the London Light Freight River Trial.

PAGES 28-29

Our Common Air

Changing our attitudes: making clean air an asset for all.

PAGES 36-39

The Big Interview

We talk to Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, founder of Ella Roberta Foundation.

PAGES 8-9

Air Quality Conference

We have announced the launch of the 2024 National Air Quality Conference.

PAGES 18-20

A Breath of Fresh Air

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service explain their work.

PAGES 30-32

Case Study

How will environmental data revolutionise children’s healthcare?

PAGES 40-41

Legal

Wanton acts: Ecocide, clean air and climate justice.

PAGES 10-12

Time to Fly!

eVTOL air taxis now offer a real prospect of greener, cleaner transport.

PAGES 22-24

Product Feature

A look at the current line-up of air quality monitoring equipment.

PAGES 34-35

Empowering Communities

A look at Imperial College London’s Introduction to Air Quality Course.

PAGES 42-43

Horror Stories

Film project designed to show the realities of living in poor quality accommodation.

Edinburgh bans advertising of cars, cruise holidays and airlines

In a radical clamp-down on the advertising of fossil-fuel products, Edinburgh Council has banned advertising on high carbon products on council infrastructure, in a move described as ‘world-leading climate policy’.

Included in the ban will be all cars, except electric vehicles that are not SUVs, airlines and airports, cruise holidays and any company with an involvement in fossil fuels. Hitherto, Amsterdam was the only major city in the world prohibiting such advertising.

The council have defined the products covered by the ban and added an explanation, as below:

Airlines and airports: All advertising by airports and airlines which might reasonably be deemed to promote more flying. There are no low carbon options for commercial air travel available currently or for the foreseeable future, so air travel per se should be treated as high carbon.

Fossil fuel companies: All firms and associated sub brands or lobbying organisations that extract, refine, produce, supply, distribute, or sell any fossil fuels. This includes, regardless of the companies’ potential sustainability commitments advertising or sponsorship adverts showing fossil fuel products, energy from coal or hydrogen or those showing petrol stations, and any ads promoting the price of petrol/diesel.

Cars: Exclude all advertising and promotions for petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles. Advertising for Electric and hydrogen fuelled vehicles are still permitted if these are not Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs). PHEVs

have been shown not to yield meaningful emissions savings over conventional vehicles.

Cruise holidays: Cruise ships emit more carbon per passenger kilometre than flying. They also generate black carbon and produce a lot of waste which is often discharged into the sea. Their engines run 24/7, often even at port which has damaging impacts on air quality.

Freddie Daley from Badvertising said: ‘Removing adverts for polluting products is a rapid, cheap and popular way to cut emissions and help decarbonise our economy. Edinburgh Council have taken an important step and shown what is possible when ambition is twinned with action.’

Coldplay exceed emission reduction targets for Music Of The Spheres Tour

The band had set themselves the challenge of cutting the emissions from each show on their current Music Of The Spheres Tour by 50% compared to those on their 2016-17 Head Full of Dreams Tour.

Two years into the tour, the band have announced that the reduction actually stands at 59%, as verified by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative. They also point out that these are actual emissions reductions and do not involve carbon offsetting or carbon credits.

The emissions taken into account include those from the events themselves, freight and travel, although the band do not ignore the fact that the audience has to travel to the event. In 2022, Live Nation partnered with Coldplay and major public transportation

providers to offer fans free or discounted rides to the venue, a move which saw a 59% average increase in public transport journeys on show days across four US cities.

On the current tour, the band have used an industry-first mobile rechargeable show battery, made from recyclable BMW i3 batteries and powered concerts by using renewable resources including solar power and even stationary bicycles.

In a statement, the band said: ‘We’d like to say a huge thank you to our incredible touring family and to all the brilliant people who’ve made this possible. Most of all, we’d like to thank everyone who’s come to a show and helped charge the show batteries on the power bikes and kinetic dance floors; everyone who’s arrived by foot, bike, ride share or public transport; everyone who’s come with refillable water bottles or returned their LED wristband for recycling; and everyone who’s bought a ticket, which means you’ve planted one of 7 million trees so far.

‘As a band, and as an industry, we’re a long way from where we need to be on this. But we’re grateful for everyone’s help so far, and we salute everyone who’s making efforts to push things in the right direction.’

Disabled drivers ignored in roll-out of EV charge points

Data provided by 223 councils across the UK has revealed that only 2.3% on-street EV charge points are adapted to be accessible for disabled motorists.

An FOI request by Vauxhall has revealed how inaccessible EV charging remains to disabled drivers - a situation which they say needs ‘immediate attention’.

Based on information provided by the 223 councils who responded, only 450 out of 19,456 charge points have been adapted for use by disabled drivers.

Furthermore, only 105 (0.5%) of on-street charge points are situated in disabled parking bays, and only 238 (1.2%) are known to conform to the British Standards Institution’s PAS 1899:2022, guide-lines which were introduced in 2022 to provide a minimum standard accessibility of public charge points.

The FOI request was made as part of the company’s Electric Streets of Britain initiative, in which they have partnered with street charging operators to ensure

UK households without off-street parking are not left behind.

The Motability Foundation, predicts that 1.35 million disabled drivers will, to some extent, be reliant on public charging infrastructure by 2035.

Once of the most surprising findings was that not one of the 11,747 on-street charge points in London has been adapted for use by disabled drivers and only 12 of them are in disabled parking bays.

Anthropogenic nitrous oxide emissions rose 40% in 40 years

A new report, drawing on millions of nitrous oxide (N2O) measurements from around the world, has found that emissions from human sources - primarily farming - grew 40% between 1980 and 2020.

Agricultural production was responsible for 74% of N2O emissions from human sources in the 2010s, mostly from chemical fertilisers and animal waste on croplands, according to a report led by researchers from Boston College.

As a greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide and remains in the atmosphere for well over 100 years.

It is released into the atmosphere from human activities such as agriculture, fuel combustion, wastewater management and industrial processes, and makes up 40% of the total N2O in the atmosphere.

The team used measurements taken over the past four decades on land, in the atmosphere, and in water making it the most comprehensive assessment of global N2O ever undertaken.

In 2020, the concentration of N2O in the atmosphere was 336 parts per billion, a 25% increase over pre-industrial levels and much more than predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In 1980, the world’s farmers used 60 million tonnes of commercial nitrogen fertilisers. By 2020, this was 107 million tonnes, with another 101 million tonnes generated by animal manure.

OTHER NEWS

Unwrapping the global potential of floating solar

Researchers have looked at nearly 68,000 inland bodies of water globally and estimated the potential electricity generation from a floating solar array. Five countries, including Ethiopia and Rwanda, could meet their entire electricity needs from this source of energy alone.

The UK could produce just under 1% of its demand, although this is still enough provide for around one million homes.

Transboundary

ozone responsible for 88% of ozonerelated deaths in Europe

Researchers examined ozonerelated deaths across 35 European between 2015 and 2017. During this period, it was estimated that 114,447 deaths were attributable to ground-level ozone.

They found that imported ozone was responsible for 88.3% of those deaths.

Most of this transboundary ozone came from hemispheric or intercontinental sources outside Europe but ozone imported from other European countries was still responsible for 20.9% of those deaths.

Voi threaten to pull e-scooters out of London

Voi’s CEO and co-founder Fredrik Hjelm has written to the Mayor of London expressing his frustration at the regulatory landscape for micromobility in the city. He complains that ‘the rapid and unregulated rise of e-bikes has left the e-scooter service unable to compete.’

He believes Voi have two choices, pull out of London or to focus on the unregulated market by deploying 20,000 e-bikes across the city.

For the full stories and more, visit: airqualitynews.com

2024 NATIONAL AIR QUALITY CONFERENCE

6TH NOVEMBER, PROSPERO HOUSE, LONDON

Join the debate to consider clean air solutions, the latest technology, the issues surrounding Clean Air Zones, research from specialists and the future progress in the sector.

Case-study presentation from John Galsworthy, Director for Climate and Transport, Hammersmith & Fulham Council and Nick Ruxton-Boyle, Director of Environment at Marston Holdings, looking at their air quality monitoring network.

Simon Birkett from Clear Air in London presents his mission to achieve full compliance with WHO guidelines throughout London.

Diana Varaden from Imperial College London will discuss the WellHome study, in which air quality monitors were place in over 100 homes across West London.

FIONA COULL from Cross River Partnership will explain how CRP’s are supporting public, private and voluntary organisations to address challenges around air quality.

Super early bird tickets on sale for a limited time only, prices start from:

£49+VAT

(for public sector tickets)

£250+VAT

(for private sector tickets)

Scan or click the QR code to find out more or to book your tickets:

We have limited availability for exhibition, sponsorship and marketing opportunities for this important conference. If you would like to get your company, brand and solutions in front of an engaging local government audience, contact Jason Hall | 07889 212414 | jason@spacehouse.co.uk

DIANA

SIMON BIRKETT Clean Air in London

FIONA COULL Cross River Partnership

Time to fly!

Flying cars were once a dream of science-fiction but eVTOL air taxis now offer a real prospect of greener, cleaner transport. Infotec’s Simon Guerrier learns how soon we can all take to the air…

‘There’s a technical revolution going on now like nothing the aviation industry has seen since the advent of the jet age,’ says Jeremy Howitt, Future Flight Campaign Lead at the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre, a former Ministry of Defence airfield on the northwest coast of Wales. The team there have spent years testing and developing ever better drones and are now gearing up for the next big thing in air travel: flying taxis.

Wait, what – really?!

‘Yes, really,’ Howitt assures us. ‘It’s early days and there’s a lot of work to be done before this is a realistic commercial proposition. But there’s a lot of investment right now in places all round the world to develop the technology. Clearly, a lot of people see the potential here.’

Howitt can easily see that potential in rural Snowdonia. ‘There’s no passenger air service across Wales,’ he explains. ‘From the north coast to the south, it takes four hours by car – more if there’s an accident or problem on the roads. We’re already talking to the Welsh Blood Service and Welsh Ambulance about how we can deploy this technology to get NHS equipment and supplies to where they’re needed more effectively. Given remote communities here, eVTOL could save lives.’

That’s the technical term for these flying taxis. ‘It’s an acronym for Electrically-powered Vertical Take-off and Landing, meaning aircraft that don’t need a runway’ explains Shazan Siddiqi, a Senior Technology Analyst at IDTechEx which recently published a report, ‘Air Taxis 2024-2044: Technologies, Players’

‘The easiest way to think of eVTOL, I think, is as the future of helicopters,’ Siddiqi continues – and that future is green. ‘Today’s helicopters burn fuel which is obviously bad for the environment. The electric drivetrains used in eVTOL produce zero emissions at the tailpipe. They also make relatively little noise, so the restrictions on flying helicopters in civilian airspace won’t apply. Helicopters are expensive to manufacture and maintain, and given restricted operations they’re a low-value market. The hope is that eVTOL will be more widely used and so help to reduce congestion by other modes of transport.’

A big factor in whether that can be achieved is what we’ll have to pay to use any such passenger service. ‘When eVTOL first comes to market it will be quite exclusive,’ says Siddiqi, ‘reserved for the kinds of people already using private jets and business class. Over time, we expect costs to come down with economies of scale and improvements in technology. A lot of original equipment manufacturers (EOMs) in eVTOL are promising to be competitive with ground transport. Most claim something like $3 or $4 per mile of operation but I think that’s optimistic. It is likely to be closer to $10 per mile, which is on a level with booking an Uber Premium service — for most people, a treat rather than an everyday expense. One essential element is that these are autonomous aircraft so you don’t need to train or certify a pilot, who also won’t take up space. Implementing autonomy in eVTOL will be a challenge but the groundwork is already there. A lot of commercial flying is done on autopilot with aircraft that are capable of taking off and landing by themselves.’

The VX4 carries a pilot and four passengers, because it’s easier to test a piloted aircraft than an autonomous one

“I’ve always been an optimist about technology. Given the chance, I wouldn’t hesitate to hop on board. Flying taxis! Who doesn’t love the idea?”

Shazan Siddiqi

Senior Technology Analyst

That leads us to the crucial matter of safety. In fact, eVTOL could well be safer than existing modes of transport. ‘We’ve seen in the news recently some high-profile accidents involving helicopters,’ explains Siddiqi. ‘In many cases, they employ single, large rotors and propellers. If that single system fails, you have a catastrophe. But drones and eVTOL use distributed electric propulsion (DEP), with perhaps eight or 10 smaller e-motors spread throughout the aircraft. Even if three or four were to fail, the aircraft could still be safely landed.’

Even so, such technology needs rigorous testing, which is where Snowdonia Aerospace comes in. ‘Basically, we’re a big playground,’ says Jeremy Howitt. ‘Northwest Wales has very low population density and relatively little air traffic, and we rent out our facilities to people wanting to develop and test these new systems. That’s how we got into partnership with SLiNK-TECH.’

John Goudie is founder and CEO of this technology company that develops the infrastructure needed to support future classes of aircraft, such as the ‘vertiports’ where they can take off and land.

‘We provide the technology deployed at these sites and we act as air-traffic controller, too,’ Goudie tells us. ‘With our systems and this ideal location, developers can test their aircraft, quickly gather data and produce new iterations.’

The partnership with Snowdonia Aerospace has government support through UKRI’s Future Flight Challenge initiative, which aims to accelerate the advance of such technologies to make transport more sustainable while delivering socioeconomic benefits across the UK. ‘The government is investing to improve transport links,’ says Goudie, ‘but another aim is to establish the UK as a centre of excellence for this new type of technology. Aerospace is a huge sector for export and we want the UK to be a leader in this new market. This tech will benefit our communities but there’s a huge opportunity to provide systems globally.’

Given this support and investment for eVTOL – and the palpable excitement in the sector – when can we expect to see flying taxis in our skies? ‘Most of the practical work being done today is on small, cargo-carrying drones,’ admits Jeremy Howitt, ‘but there are a few big eVTOL projects going on aimed at carrying passengers. We supported Vertical Aerospace with the initial testing of its VX1 prototype. The VX4, now flying out of Cotswold Airport which is closer to the company’s base in Bristol, carries a pilot and four passengers – because, under Civil Aviation Authority rules, it’s easier to test a piloted aircraft than an autonomous system.’

Howitt suggests we might see early demonstrations of autonomous eVTOL this side of 2030 but thinks we’re unlikely to see a commercial, revenue-generating offer before 2035.

‘I’m more optimistic than Jeremy,’ says Goudie. ‘The companies involved in this have received a lot of investment and there’s pressure on them to deliver.’

The Advanced Air Mobility Reality Index tracks when different eVTOL services being developed around the world might come into service and suggests that some will be in operation by as soon as 2026. Goudie doesn’t think this unreasonable. ‘China is already doing a lot of testing and I think will bring something to market quite soon. In the US, Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation both seem to be catching up. I’m not saying we’re all about to be living in something like The Jetsons, but work is going on.’

‘What’s holding this up,’ says Howitt, ‘is not the technology but the regulation, in terms of our being able to generate a sufficient body of evidence to proves that eVTOL is safe. As well as the tech involved in getting things to fly, we’ll be measuring noise profiles and rotor downwash profiles, which will impact on arguments over whether these things can be deployed in city centres or, say, in hospital car parks. As well as the vehicles, we need to test the vertiports, particularly where there is a high degree of automation. There’s also how we integrate this new class of vehicle into an already crowded airspace. Testing is really important. We can do a lot of modelling and simulation to generate useful data but we then need to be able to validate that in the real world. That’s what we aim to address in building up trials capability here.’

On that basis, what should central government do to support the development of eVTOL? ‘It’s already done a pretty good job with the Future Flight Challenge programme,’ says Howitt, ‘but that’s coming to an end this year and as yet there’s been no formal announcement of the follow-on we need.

Given the level of risk, we need a high degree of government co-investment to keep momentum going. We need the regulator to be an active part of the programme rather than a bystander so that regulation is developed in partnership with industry and with an understanding of what is reasonable and practical, without being burdensome on either party.’

‘We’ve already been allocated technical experts from the CAA as part of our innovation sandbox,’ says Goudie. ‘The issue for the government, I think, is in keeping ahead of the industries developing new technology like this, who have a lot of resource and investment.’

‘I think new legislation will be needed for the use of vertiports –new landing sites specifically catered to eVTOL,’ says Siddiqi. ‘Even where you have existing helicopter landing pads, a lot of

changes will be needed to accommodate eVTOL. Then there’s air traffic management. Airspace over a city centre will be saturated if you have, say, 50-odd eVTOL aircraft all flying there, so management is crucial. That needs legislation and regulatory bodies, too. Then there’s the charging infrastructure needed to support these vehicles, and the businesses running them. Good, fast-working chargers will mean that aircraft can get back up into the sky quickly to earn more fares. All these things are important.’ At a local government level, Jeremy Howitt said he’s already in talks with Welsh NHS services about ways to deploy eVTOL for maximum benefit. ‘We’re happy to talk to any organisation or body interested in this technology and the ways it can be made more applicable,’ he says. ‘It’s not to early to think about that.’

Goudie agrees. ‘We’re deploying the system at Snowdonia Aerospace Centre as a test asset but it will also provide a showcase for the capabilities of eVTOL. I think anyone from a local authority who sees a demonstration of what’s possible with a highly automated logistics drone will want to see that technology implemented in their region. The infrastructure can be set up at a council building or hospital, or wherever it will add benefit. We can also demonstrate that with just a little training anyone can operate these kinds of systems.’

‘Local government can also play a big role in public awareness and stakeholder engagement,’ adds Siddiqi. ‘There was a lot of scepticism when eVTOL was first being talked about. It’s quite a scary proposition to put yourself in one of these things. There’s work to be done in explaining that they’re safer than helicopters, better for the environment and offer all these potential benefits.’

But it’s still quite a strange, scary idea. How would he really feel about getting into a self-driving, flying taxi? Siddiqi laughs. ‘I’ve always been an optimist about technology. Given the chance, I wouldn’t hesitate to hop on board. Flying taxis! Who doesn’t love the idea?’

Snowdonia Aerospace: ‘Basically, we’re a big playground’

Shortening the path between monitoring & informed action

At Acoem UK, we design and manufacture class-leading multi-parameter environmental monitoring solutions that empower governments, scientists, industries and communities to make informed decisions.

Our holistic ecosystem of solutions delivers accurate and actionable data to monitor, measure and manage pollution, thus safeguarding businesses and assets, and maximising opportunities while conserving the planet’s resources.

Partnering with us means the backing of a team of 850+ employees, across 28 offices, 6 manufacturing facilities and 5 R&D facilities in 9 countries – all focused on creating the right balance between progress and preservation.

Taking to the water: The London Light Freight River Trial

Fiona Coull, manages the Cross River Partnership’s Smarter Greener Logistics programme.

The River Thames is home to the UK’s largest port, but remains an underutilised resource - it offers a reliable and sustainable way to move goods around London, improving air quality and reducing congestion. Yet, according to TfL, road freight makes up ~90% of all goods carried into London(1)

In 2020, 360 million parcels were delivered by road in the UK. Considering studies predict that parcel numbers – ‘light freight’are likely to double by 2030(2), there is an increasing need to shift from road-based freight systems towards reliable and sustainable alternatives.

River freight offers a potential solution; it provides businesses with an opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint whilst also improving delivery times and reliability above anything that can be offered using the roads. Likewise, it can be integrated with other low emission modes, such as rail freight, and cargo bikes and electric vehicles (EV’s) for the last mile delivery.

Background

Many local authorities, including all those in London, have declared a climate emergency. The recent ULEZ expansion, other policy shifts away from road traffic, and fuel price increases signal a change(3). Road freight is becoming less cost-effective.

Businesses are being encouraged to look at alternative freight solutions. According to the PLA’s Air Quality Strategy for the Tidal Thames, energy consumption per km/tonne of goods

moved by waterways is about 17% of that of road and 50% of that of rail. It also found that in London, emissions from freight by boat against the same weight by road, resulted in significantly less CO2 , and less or equal particulate matter per tonne-km(4)

Consequently, river freight has become a topic of conversation, with several businesses already making a change. DHL has been running a successful river freight service since 2018 and in 2023, over 3 million tonnes of cargo was moved on the river between terminals in London.

Although a lack of awareness on how to start using the river remains a challenge, there is increasing recognition that moving light freight on the Thames will have significant sustainability benefits, particularly in congested urban roads in boroughs fronting the river. This has been emphasised by several river freight pilots delivered by Cross River Partnership.

“Improving air quality is a key priority, particularly in London. The more we can work together to take polluting freight vehicles off the road by river, rail and other low emission modes, the better it will be for everyone who lives, works and visits the city.”

Susannah Wilks Director, Cross River Partnership

Cross River Partnership – Proving the Concept of River Freight

Cross River Partnership (CRP) is a partnership organisation delivering environmental, economic and community-focused projects. Originally formed to build the Millennium and Queen’s Golden Jubilee Bridges, CRP supports the public, private and voluntary sectors to address challenges around Air Quality, Transport, Placemaking and Wellbeing. As a testbed for innovation, we share knowledge, evidence, and best practice. This is underpinned by CRP’s vision to address sustainability challenges collaboratively in London and beyond.

More recently, CRP has been working with partners to provide the proof of concept for river freight into central London. CRP’s Defra-funded Clean Air Logistics for London (CALL) project aimed to move more freight into London via river, supported by low emission last mile delivery methods. As part of this, CRP co-ordinated three successful river freight trials, one of which is discussed in more detail below:

01. The London Light Freight River Trial

02. CRP’s River Freight Pilot

03. CRP’s River Freight Pilot Part Two - Scaling Up: Monthly bulk deliveries on the Thames

Case Study - The London Light Freight River Trial

In early 2023, CRP worked in collaboration with eight project partners to deliver the London Light Freight River Trial; London’s first daily, multi-supplier, river freight trial that incorporated return deliveries.

The trial aimed to serve the next day delivery market and provide a proof of concept for the viability of the Thames for fast, efficient and consistent deliveries. It also aimed to showcase river freight as a sustainable logistics solution.

As part of the four-week trial, goods were loaded at Dartford International Ferry Terminal (DIFT) located to the East of the QEII Crossing, and transported West along the Thames to Trinity Buoy Wharf (London Borough of Tower Hamlets), and Bankside Pier (London Borough of Southwark).

CRP

PROJECT PARTNER ROLE

Trial facilitator & project manager

Defra Funder

Lyreco UK & Ireland Supplier

Pedal Me

Cargo Bike Operator

Port of London Authority (PLA) Facilitator and owner of DIFT

Speedy Services

Supplier

Thames Clippers Logistics Vessel operator

Transport for London (London River Services)

Pier owner

Westminster City Council Lead Partner

Cargo bikes and EV’s were used to deliver goods from the piers to their final destinations located in several central London Boroughs. The trial was also the first river freight trial to incorporate return deliveries, with goods returning from the delivery piers to DIFT each morning. This helped to further improve efficiency and sustainability.

The trial resulted in the following key achievements:

• Emissions savings of 92% for NOx, 96% for CO2 , 79% for PM10 and 78% for PM2.5 compared to the original delivery methods for the trial duration

• 3 vans were removed from London’s roads per delivery trip

• In total 561 deliveries were carried out by cargo bike covering 393km

• In total 40 deliveries were carried out by electric van covering 193km

There were also several operational benefits associated with the trial:

• Average 15 minute loading time across the trial period from arrival of the last truck at DIFT to the vessel departing

• Offloading goods for last-mile operators averaged 7 minutes

• No loss or damage to goods during the trial

• Per delivery trip Speedy Services saved over 80 minutes of driving time each way by using the river

The Trial Route

As well as understanding emissions and time savings, the trial provided an opportunity to capture various learnings and challenges.

One learning was the desire for a longer length of trial. This would have enabled suppliers to add in additional delivery pier locations, and to scale up volumes to further test the financial and operational viability of using the river.

Additionally, due to pontoon brow size restrictions, alterations were required to the pallets transporting supplier goods to fit euro-pallet size. Furthermore, deliveries had to be adapted to comply with weight limitations of the cargo bikes, which can take a maximum load of 150kg.

Regarding challenges, the main learning was around the complexity of stakeholders. Multiple organisations had to be consulted to require permissions, which was in part due to pier ownership structures. Nevertheless, support for the trial was widespread, meaning that permissions were granted within the timeframes required.

Finally, another challenge was associated with understanding the true cost of using the river. Total trial costs are detailed below, however this does not include costs of using infrastructure at DIFT (which were waived by the PLA) or any internal costs that were incurred by Lyreco UK & Ireland or Speedy Services to change their delivery methods and / or allocate resources to enable the delivery of the trial.

COSTS INCURRED DETAILS

£3,666 Fees

£1,500 (estimation)

£46,676

Nonetheless, the London Light Freight River trial successfully demonstrated the viability of river freight as a sustainable logistics solution. It produced valuable emissions and congestion related data as well as essential learnings for using the Thames to transport goods into central London.

“ This latest trial underlines our Thames Vision 2050 commitment to ensuring that the river plays a transformational role in making the Port of London a world-leading, Net Zero trading hub.”

James Trimmer Director of Planning and Development

at Port of London

Authority

So What’s Next?

CRP’s trial demonstrates that there is a precedent for successful and sustainable light freight operations on the Thames. However, enabling this at scale is the next task.

Although hurdles include costs associated with upgrading necessary infrastructure, the significant environmental benefits and potential to transport large volumes will unlock greater financial benefits in the long term and the issues necessary for delivering a scaled solution are now under consideration.

The table below highlights the various hurdles and opportunities in more detail:

PROJECT PARTNER ROLE

Lack of enabling infrastructure

Requires long term investment / infrastructure improvements

Large capital costs to support transition away from road-based logistics operations

Requires vessel and enabling technology improvements

Requires improved / standardised licensing and registering processes technology improvements

Lack of policy implementation

Lack of business support and knowledge

Higher comparative cost to other modes

Complexity of stakeholders on the river

Challenge to encourage behaviour change

Significant environmental benefits

Potential to transport large volumes of freight

Air quality improvements

Reduction in congestion

Reduction of LGV/HGV use for last mile

Reduction in traffic accidents

Create more jobs and economic value

Encourages joint strategic approaches and partnerships

Adaption of piers to be multipurposed

Advancement of new delivery methods

New business growth for London

Supporting net zero

Consequently, further trials that effectively demonstrate the logistical process and identify how these hurdles can be addressed will help to establish the level of investment required.

“It’s brilliant to see the amount of interest in using the river for freight. Our various trials have highlighted how effective The Thames can be for just-in-time deliveries, as well as its ability to improve congestion and air quality. We’re excited to continue to work with partners to get more freight into central London by river rather than by road.”

Fiona Coull Programme Manager, Cross River Partnership

Conclusion

The scope to improve the reliability of delivery times and reduce congestion, traffic accidents, air and noise pollution through the use of the Thames for freight is large. This combined with the possibility to create new employment opportunities, new businesses, develop skills and training networks, meet net zero targets and further develop innovative emerging technologies (5) provides an exciting opportunity. However, for this to be realised, an ongoing jointstrategic effort will be required.

Resources:

01. Transport for London (no date). River, Transport for London.

Available at: River - Transport for London

02. Centre for London (2021). Worth the Weight: Making London’s deliveries greener and smarter.

Available at: Worth_The_Weight_Report_Final.pdf

03. Transport for London (2023). ULEZ Expansion 2023.

Available at: ULEZ Expansion 2023 - Transport for London

04. Port of London Authority (2018), Air Quality Strategy for the Tidal Thames.

Available at: Air quality | Port of London Authority

Goods being delivered by cargo bike for the last mile

Goods being loaded on to the vessel at DIFT

Vessel delivering goods on the Thames

Goods being offloaded onto cargo bikes at Bankside Pier

CRP launch event for the London Light Freight River Trial

CAMS air quality data – a breath of fresh air

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) is part of the EU’s Earth Observation Programme. It provides quality-controlled information related to air pollution and health, solar energy, greenhouse gases and climate forcing, everywhere in the world. Here they explain the significance of their work.

The quality of the air we breathe can significantly impact our health, so much so that the European Environment Agency cites air pollution as the largest environmental health risk in Europe. Air pollution causes cardiovascular and respiratory diseases that, in the worst cases, can lead to preventable deaths. This is particularly true in urban environments. In 2021, 97% of Europe’s urban population was exposed to concentrations of fine particulate matter above the healthy level set in World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

Every human inhales around 11,000 litres of air each day. However, with each breath we take, we can inhale small amounts of potentially harmful gases and particles. In 2015, the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the WHO, adopted a resolution on air quality and health, recognising air pollution as a risk factor for noncommunicable diseases such as ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and cancer. Meanwhile, earlier this year the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) of the United Nations Environment Programme issued a draft resolution on promoting regional cooperation on air pollution to improve air quality globally.

Tougher guidelines

The WHO updated its air quality guidelines in 2021 to toughen its recommendations for fine particulate matter PM2.5 (referring to particles that are 2.5 microns or less in diameter). The new recommendations state that annual average concentrations of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 µg/m3, half the previous limit of 10 µg/ m3, while 24-hour average exposures should not exceed 15 µg/m3 for more than 3-4 days per year.

According to EEA figures, 253,000 deaths were attributable to exposure to PM2.5 concentrations above the WHO guidelines in 2021. In addition, 52,000 deaths were attributable to exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations above the guideline of 10 µg/m3 and 22,000 deaths were attributable to short-term exposure to ozone (O3 ) concentrations above 70 µg/m3

Meanwhile, in the EU the threshold for PM2.5 is currently at 20 µg/m3 and is set to drop to 10 µg/m3 under the revised Ambient Air Quality Directives adopted by the European Parliament in April.

Share of the EU urban population exposed to air pollutant concentrations above certain EU standards and WHO guidelines in 2021. Source: EEA

Looking to the future

In 2021, the European Commission adopted its Action Plan ‘Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil.’ Among its other objectives, the Action Plan calls for improvements in air quality with a view to reducing the number of premature deaths caused by air pollution by 55% by 2030, as a first step towards reducing air, water and soil pollution to levels no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems by 2050.

For policymakers and health officials to produce science-based health policy in relation to air pollution, it is critical that they have access to robust air quality data. This is where the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) comes in. CAMS combines state-of-the-art computer models of the atmosphere and its chemical composition with satellite and in-situ observations to provide daily forecasts and historical reanalysis of the composition of the air in Europe and worldwide. CAMS provides daily analyses and forecasts of worldwide long-range transport of atmospheric pollutants as well as the background air quality for the European domain. These forecasts can be used as they are, but they also serve as input to a wide range of downstream services, such as national air quality forecasts, smartphone applications and policy tools. As such, CAMS information on worldwide pollution and European air quality reaches millions of users.

Every day CAMS provides four-day forecasts of EU regulated pollutants, other relevant air quality pollutants, pollens, and aerosol compounds for Europe, in addition to five-day global forecasts and additional information about greenhouse gases, stratospheric ozone and the UV-Index.

As regards atmospheric aerosols, the CAMS daily global forecasts provide values for total aerosol optical depth (AOD - a measure of the total amount of aerosol in a vertical column of the atmosphere) as well as for individual species such as sea salt, desert dust, organic matter, black carbon, nitrate, and sulphate aerosols.

When it comes to supporting decision and policy making in the management of air pollution episodes and reporting under European Directives, CAMS offers a number of products. CAMS policy services describe the evolution of air quality in Europe and the influence of the main anthropogenic sources of emissions, helping in designing appropriate and efficient policy responses to air quality episodes.

CAMS European hourly forecast of regulated air pollutants. Source: CAMS

Athens, earlier this year, after the arrival of a Sarahan dust storm

Intense desert dust transports

When it comes to desert dust, for example, the CAMS data provide a clear picture of the frequency and intensity of dust intrusions into Europe and elsewhere. In spring 2024, CAMS observed a relatively high number of intense Saharan dust intrusions over Europe as far north as Scandinavia and with some episodes crossing the Atlantic to South America and the Caribbean. “While it is not unusual for Saharan dust plumes to reach Europe, there have been some particularly intense episodes in recent years which have had noticeable impacts in several countries. The occurrence and potential impacts depend on the weather patterns at the time, and our dust forecasts can be used to predict the possible impacts a few days ahead,” said CAMS Senior Scientist Mark Parrington.

For example, a recent Saharan dust episode saw a dramatic orange haze descend over the Greek capital of Athens, in one of the worst such episodes to hit Greece since 2018. This resulted in a deterioration in air quality in many areas of the country and people with respiratory conditions were recommended to stay indoors, wear protective masks, and avoid physical activity. CAMS forecasts for the period in question show a significant dust transport being carried north-eastward from the Sahara across Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea to Greece. Health officials can use these forecasts to issue warnings to citizens, enabling them to take action to protect public health.

Timely atmospheric information

With the specific aim of providing timely information to citizens and authorities, CAMS unveiled an Aerosol Alerts service earlier this year, which provides daily aerosol alerts based on aerosol optical depth and particulate matter observations. Developed by a team at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, the CAMS Aerosol Alerts use the CAMS global forecasts to offer daily aerosol alerts up to three days in advance.

For example, for alerts based on AOD, the forecasts are compared against a climatology computed using the CAMS global reanalysis of atmospheric composition averaged between 2003 and 2018, while alerts based on particulate matter surface concentrations are compared against given absolute values. The system triggers three levels of alert –high, very high, and extreme – when certain pre-determined thresholds are exceeded.

On the Aerosol Alerts homepage you can find a global map where the default ‘all species’ view shows each aerosol species (dust, sea salt, sulphate, organic matter, and black carbon) simultaneously, with arrows indicating prevailing winds. Users can also sign up to receive customised alerts covering geographical areas and aerosol species of interest.

Aerosol spread from Saharan dust, October 2023.

CAMS makes its data available free-of-charge through forecast graphics, tools like the Aerosol Alerts, and through the underlying data in the Atmosphere Data Store

Revolutionary Air Quality Data Services

We offer air quality solutions that enable you to develop data-driven action plans. Identify high emitters, educate the public, and evaluate and report your interventions. With iMCERTS compliant measurements, a leading air quality software platform and bespoke air quality models, we offer detailed insights to empower you to work towards reducing air pollution.

Product feature

An overview of some of the leading air quality monitoring equipment from some of the industry leaders.

Vortex is a dynamic company at the forefront of smart city technologies. The company builds environmental sensors, networks, and data solutions that support global decarbonisation efforts.

At the core of its offerings is VTX Air, a hyperlocal air quality monitoring solution designed for local authorities and heavy industry companies.

The award-winning solution collects real-time data on particulate matter and gaseous pollutants, including PM2.5 , PM10 , PM100 , NO, NO2 , SO2, CO, and CO2 . It also measures ambient air parameters like temperature and relative humidity.

Key features of VTX Air include:

• MCERTS certification for PM2.5

• Robust design: Built to withstand harsh weather conditions.

• SIM Card-Free and Maintenance-Free: Utilises a secure, decentralised mesh network and AI-powered constant calibration with AURN stations, offering truly plug-and-play technology.

• Scalable deployment: VTX Air is priced for high-density deployment and supports one of the world’s densest air quality monitoring networks.

Acoem

When it comes to safeguarding air quality for communities today and into the future, innovation isn’t merely the introduction of new technology - it’s fundamentally changing how we think about challenges and how we solve them.

At Acoem, we take immense pride in not just supplying Air Quality Instrumentation but also in the service and maintenance provision for our customers. We enjoy knowing that we are playing our part in ensuring accurate and reliable air quality data for all. With over 250 sites across the UK, our teams service the national AURN and Black Carbon networks as well as a broad cross section of customers in local authority, Industry and Academia.

By delivering street-level air quality analysis, VTX Air helps users identify pollution hotspots and understand the causes of air pollution. This intelligence has enabled customers to reduce carbon emissions by one tonne daily and improve air quality by 50%.

VTX Air serves various sectors, including central and local government, industrial emissions, sports grounds, education, healthcare infrastructure, and smart/ connected cities. The solution features custom dashboards, open API architecture for easy integration, public portals, and an end-to-end IoT system that provides actionable data on demand.

Vortex ensures that interventions are validated through a wireless mesh network, which can integrate with third-party devices like traffic management cameras. This holistic approach supports multiple clean air projects, ensuring effective preand post-implementation monitoring for initiatives such as school streets, low-traffic neighbourhoods, and clean air zones.

As part of Marston Holdings’ end-to-end package, customers can receive additional services such as engagement programmes, urban design, active travel schemes, and

traffic management enforcement cameras. VTX Air is not just about monitoring; it’s about making the invisible visible to make smarter decisions today.

We understand that the credibility of air quality data hinges on its accuracy, transparency and validity. From deploying state of the art instrumentation to implementing traceable data systems, including our own data collection platform for meticulous logging and

storage, every aspect of our process is designed to uphold the highest standards. By presenting data in a clear and meaningful manner, we at Acoem, empower Governments and businesses to minimise environmental impact and foster a sustainable future.

Vortex IoT

Clarity

Clarity Movement is transforming how governments, communities, and businesses understand and respond to air pollution with IoT-based air quality monitoring technology. Clarity provides the most complete, scalable air monitoring solution, with unmatched hardware, software, and expert services. Used in more than 60 countries around the world — including the Breathe London project, the world’s largest air quality sensor network — Clarity’s affordable air quality measurement solutions provide continuous monitoring and accurate, calibrated data in a fully supported, worry-free environment.

For more information, visit: www.clarity.io

EarthSense

“The Zephyr® air quality monitor is an award-winning, compact, certified and lightweight device that collects air quality measurements in real-time, providing visibility of air quality concentrations at its location, including NO, NO2 , O3, CO, SO2 , H2S, CO2 , TVOC, PM1 , PM2.5 and PM10. Constructed using extruded aluminium and Polycarbonate-ABS plastics for a stronger and more durable casing with a greater temperature range; ideal for outdoor climates.

AIRVALENT

With two cartridge options, Standard and Enhanced, for detailed air quality measurements. Its modular cartridge system allows for easy replacement and installation without opening the main body of the unit. The Zephyr® also has a thoughtful design for quick & simple installation and offers a selection of power options including mains, battery or solar power.

The monitor has various communication options such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Companion App, and third-party sensors integration for sensors such as met stations via RS232 & RS485 port. It also offers flexible wireless communication through GSM 2G and 4G.

Recently awarded indicative MCERTS, an internationally recognised standard regarding ambient air monitoring for indicative ambient particulate monitors.

AIRVALENT is a functional, useful, and beautifully designed home accessory, manufactured locally in Latvia by the Ventspils company SIA Aspired. It makes a great gift for anyone who wants to keep track of the air we breathe! AIRVALENT measures CO2 , humidity, and temperature levels at home or in the workplace. AIRVALENT encourages people to think about the most valuable thing we have – our health.

Compact, customizable design, sustainable materials, and high quality. This device measures indoor air qualaity, indicating CO2 , humidity, and temperature levels in your home or workplace. Most people spend the majority of their day indoors, so it’s especially important to monitor the air we breathe. Air quality affects everyone. Poor quality air can cause fatigue, lack of concentration, apathy, allergic reactions, and many other unpleasant effects. This is particularly important for people with allergies, new mothers, and anyone committed to a healthy lifestyle.

The Zephyr® offers customers various benefits, such as compliance with permit requirements for dust monitoring and construction activities, promoting public confidence in monitoring data, and confidence in using it as part of air quality management software. The Zephyr® can be used in various applications, either as a standalone unit to measure air pollution at a specific point, providing localised understanding of air quality, or as a network of monitors to identify pollution hotspots and trends. Our new Virtual Zephyrs, offer a cheaper alternative to create a network using the MappAir® air quality model. These fill the gaps in locations where hardware cannot be deployed, with accuracy that rivals many other sensor technologies available in the market today and abides by the European Union Directives (EUD50).”

Enviro Technology Services

Unsurpassed accuracy, reliability, and simplicity go hand in hand with the UK DEFRA MCERTS approved BAM-1020 Particulate Monitor.

The BAM-1020 automatically measures and records airborne particulate concentration levels (in milligrams or micrograms per cubic meter) using the industry-proven principle of beta-ray attenuation.

With a field-proven record of reliability, it is one of the most successful particulate air monitoring platforms in the world.

Enviro Technology has sold 635 BAM1020 units to date with thousands of units currently deployed worldwide. Having been in production for over 20 years, it has earned an excellent reputation internationally for reliability, accuracy, and ease of use. This translates into robust air quality data and a lower cost of operation compared to other commonly used mass monitors.

Turnkey Instruments

At Turnkey Instruments Ltd, design and manufacturing has evolved to offer lower cost monitoring solutions for both gases and particulates. Combined with their own web portal, Airqweb, this offers an intuitive and comprehensive data management suite to complete the package. Unlike many other products currently available, that combine dust and gas measurements in one unit, they offer separate monitors to increase flexibility in monitoring strategies. The new IPM real time particulate monitor

EEMC Monitors

Designed to run continuously for up to 60 days between site visits and maintenance, the BAM-1020 also contains a comprehensive self-test function that allows the unit to routinely self-test for any mechanical failures in the system, so you don’t have to!

All this and more makes the BAM-1020 Particulate Monitor the perfect solution for local authorities needing to measure PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations. Key features include:

• Cost-effective, to buy, operate and run

• Full remote operation and touchscreen display

• Rugged and reliable

• UK DEFRA MCERTS approved for use on all UK monitoring networks

• EN16450-2017 approved

• Fast and easy field audits

• Benchtop or rack mount operation in mobile or stationary shelters

includes MCerts for PM10 and PM2.5 , and comes in a small compact enclosure, easy to locate in urban environments. Whilst still retaining the heated inlet to ensure accuracy over all months of the year. Complimenting this is the low cost iGAS ambient gas monitor utilising electro chemical sensors across all the key urban pollutants. These two monitors can be easily located together or deployed separately, creating a useful monitoring resource for maximum data acquisition over a larger area.

EEMC Monitors has been working with our partner Omnidots, to enhance the digital capabilities of the well-known ES-642, which now ticks all the following boxes:

✓ MCerts compliant

✓ Compact, light-weight and easy to install and maintain

✓ Data in ‘real-time’ (and instantaneous alerts by text/SMS/email)

✓ Integrated 4G and Wi-Fi communications (latest MEMS Technology)

✓ All configuration and data are managed remotely via intuitive software/cloud- platform

✓ Free virtual training and software updates

✓ UK support & maintenance

We also have increased our range of air quality monitors offerings, adding another product capable of measuring PM10 , PM2.5, PM1, and gases (NO2 , NOx, CO, CO2 , H2S, SO2 and VOCs). This new addition also incorporating video capabilities, offering the versatility to be used across multiple applications.

If you are thinking of investing in a new PM monitor or upgrading your current PM monitor contact ET today for a discussion on how the BAM-1020 can save you time, money, and complications!

T: E: 01453 733200 info@et.co.uk

Automated 24/7 monitoring

‘Always up’ self-healing wireless mesh network

Web based UI dashboards with analytics

Fit & forget - no site visits

Lifetime warranty

Priced

Sensing-as-a-Service

Vortex supports Cardiff Council with city-wide VTX Air network

Client. Cardiff City Council

Cardiff Council and Vortex have launched an ambitious project with forty-seven air quality monitors installed across four Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA) and twenty-six school locations in the Welsh capital.

The Welsh capital is committed to improving air quality for its 350,000+ residents, focussing on vulnerable areas like schools to protect children’s health.

Challenge. Lack of localised data

Like many UK cities, Cardiff faces significant air pollution issues, particularly Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions from road transport. Additionally, Public Health Wales estimates over 220 annual deaths in the region due to NO2 pollution. Legacy legal challenges have driven the Council to intensify efforts against air pollution in recent years.

• 2017 legal action: Client Earth sued the Welsh and UK Governments over illegal NO2 levels, pushing for accountability.

• Cardiff Council was instructed to find ways to reduce NO2 quickly. Initial findings showed Castle Street and other areas breaching EU limits by 2021.

• Traditionally, the Council relied on diffusion tubes, offering only average readings and limiting real-time assessment on a street-by-street basis.

Solution. VTX Air Monitors

In response to these challenges, Cardiff Council sought innovative solutions to enhance its air quality monitoring capabilities. Recognising the need for a holistic approach, the Council preferred noncharging measures over clean air zones, aligning with government guidance and emphasising the broader air quality benefits associated with such solutions. Vortex provided:

• VTX Air monitors across nearly every School and four Air Quality Management Areas: Llandaff, Ely Bridge, Stephenson-Court, Cardiff City Centre

• Real-time data on multiple pollutants: VTX Air Monitors provide street-level accuracy, measuring air particulates and gas pollutants every 5 minutes.

• Wireless network: Devices are SIM Card-free and connected wirelessly, enabling reliable end-to-end communication.

Outcome. Hyperlocal data on-demand

Vortex’s advanced tools allow Cardiff to compare local air pollution levels with AURN stations, offering deeper insights into pollution patterns. By deploying Vortex’s VTX Air monitors, Cardiff has been able to achieve the following:

• Identify NO2 concentration peaks around schools during peak traffic times, highlighting areas needing intervention.

• Raise awareness using real-time data to help policymakers, parents, and teachers understand and address air pollution risks.

By monitoring air quality around schools, the Council can validate the success of future projects, like enforced school streets, and encourage healthier, more sustainable transportation choices.

Changing our attitudes: making clean air an asset for all

By Jane Burston, CEO, Clean Air Fund

If we want to see action on air quality, we need to start recognising clean air as an economic assetand to do that, we need to change our attitudes.

Air pollution harms us all. It causes around 8 million premature deaths every year - more than twice as many as from malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined - and blights human and economic development. Despite this, our latest State of Air Quality Funding 2023 report found that less than 1% of international development funding and 0.1% of global philanthropic funding is being spent on tackling air pollution. Tackling air pollution is our collective imperative. Our Common Air, a new global commission chaired by former Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark and former Chief Scientist of the World Health Organization (WHO) Soumya Swaminathan, aims to accelerate action on air quality. As one of its 18 commissioners - between us, we bring expertise from business, finance, science and policy - we urge financial institutions to invest more heavily in clean air programmes and better track the economic benefits that clean air brings.

In a year when citizens from across 80 countries elect new governments, access to clean air should be a political priority given the health, economic and environmental impacts at stake. However, at the moment, 9 in 10 citizens will be going to polling stations

while breathing toxic air. Air pollution is also a silent killer that hits marginalised communities the hardest, even though they’re the least responsible for it. Children under five who live in a lower income country are 60 times more likely to die from air pollution. Change needs to happen - but to do this, we first need to rewrite the narrative around clean air. Our Common Air calls for six shifts in attitudes to inspire global action on air pollution.

“Funding for clean air does not match the gravity of the situation –it continues to be chronically underfunded.”

Jane Burston CEO

A municipal truck sprays water on the road with an anti-smog gun, to reduce air pollution in Delhi

Stop seeing air pollution as a cost and start seeing clean air as an asset

Approximately 1.2 billion workdays are lost globally each year due to air pollution and it’s estimated to reach 3.8 billion days by 2060. Air pollution reduces crop yields, which has an impact on food security. On the flipside, the Confederation of British Industry reported that, simply by meeting WHO guidelines on air pollution, £1.6 billion could be added to the UK economy every year. The US Environmental Protection Agency found that every $1 spent on air pollution control yields an estimated $30 in economic benefits. The list of economic benefits of clean air goes on and on.

Governments, businesses, investors, and multilateral development banks need to recognise and quantify the economic value that clean air creates. Clean air is an economic asset. Investment is needed to make clean air a reality, but the benefits of clean air outweigh costs –it can reduce health and productivity-related losses, drive new models of economic growth, and promote sustainable businesses.

Use data to support action on clean air

Government interventions to promote clean air have a higher chance of being effective when they are backed by comprehensive, location-specific data on air pollution and better emissions monitoring. Policymakers and regulators can ensure the availability of this information by collaborating with research and civil society organisations, while citizens can push institutions to build better monitoring systems or make existing information transparent, and/or provide air pollution data themselves. With compelling data, it’s hard to argue against the importance of clean air and why further measures are needed to improve air quality.

Take collective responsibility for clean air

Air quality initiatives need to be scaled and plans for clean air should be tailored to the needs of different sectors, while simultaneously ensuring that cross-sector efforts are coordinated effectively to maximise impact. Tackling air pollution can unlock mutual benefits for different parts of the economy. For example, an emphasis on making public transport greener can create business opportunities for electric buses as well as create demand for renewable power generation. Incentivising clean construction methods can promote the use of more sustainable materials, while dust control measures on construction sites can support the creation of sustainable urban waste management regulations.

Prioritise prevention over cure

The global cost of the health damage due to air pollution amounts to $8.1 trillion a year, equal to 6.1% of global GDP. Preventative measures are more cost-effective. Through action on air pollution, savings on public health could be redirected towards subsidising air pollution reduction technologies or to incentivise businesses to use cleaner energy sources.

Where public spending on health is limited, such “savings” might not be evident upfront. But as air pollution continues to harm public health, the long-term consequences for the economy, such as through employees’ missing work days due to health issues caused by air pollution, will incentivise investment in clean air.

Think of cleaning the air as an investment opportunity rather than a cost

Phasing down fossil fuels, which are the main source of air pollution, comes with the opportunity to scale up clean energy and transport. The State of Global Air Quality Funding 2023 showed us that we’re on the right track to achieve this, as there has been a decline in funding for fossil fuel-prolonging projects. In 2021, for the first time, international development funding for outdoor air quality projects ($2.3 billion) exceeded funding for fossil fuel-prolonging projects ($1.5 billion). This suggests momentum to phase down fossil fuels.

But we’re not over the line yet - we need to replace fossil fuels with clean energy sources. Clean energy investment needs to reach $4.5 trillion a year by 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. In September 2023, G20 leaders endorsed a Green Development Pact, which recognised that $5.9 trillion was needed by developing countries to achieve their climate targets by 2030, as well as $4 trillion a year for clean energy. We should see investing in clean energy as a way to reduce air pollution, which is beneficial for our health and planet, and offers investors a payout in the long run.

Action on air pollution addresses several Sustainable Development Goals at once

Action on air pollution, such as scaling renewable energy sources for small businesses, improving clean-cooking systems, and making transport greener, improves health and puts people at the centre of the benefits that clean air brings. It also helps advance several Sustainable Development Goals simultaneously, including those centred on social equity, health, energy, sustainable cities, sustainable production and consumption, and climate action. Air pollution is an urgent problem. It affects people and our planet by damaging our health, hurting our bank accounts and the economy, and making climate change worse. And yet funding for clean air does not match the gravity of the situation - it continues to be chronically underfunded. To see effective action against air pollution and drive it higher up the political agenda, we need to change our narrative around it. This will not just benefit us and our children, but also make the planet livable for generations to come.

Case Study: How will environmental data revolutionise children’s healthcare?

By Jonathan M. Tan, MD, MPH, MBI, FASA, pediatric anesthesiologist, Vice Chair of Analytics and Clinical Effectiveness at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Assistant Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology and Spatial Sciences at the

University of Southern California

In our rapidly changing world, healthcare is essential for ensuring the health and vitality of individuals and populations.

To deliver the best care to individuals and communities, healthcare systems and professionals must skillfully adapt to the changes. This includes addressing the impact of extreme weather and environmental factors, like air quality, a key determinant of health.

Unfortunately, one of the largest challenges today is that the critically important information on environmental exposures are not readily available at the point of care for healthcare professionals and patients to guide medical decision making and education. Furthermore, the essential environmental data needed to conduct important research studies on the impact of the environment on health are not readily available either. Without the availability of the right information at the right time,

the opportunity to understand, address, and advance the health of individual patients and populations will be limited. We can do better. The limitations on information available extends to other important insights in addition to environmental exposures, including economic stability, education, social and community contexts, health and healthcare access in the neighborhood, and the built environment. All together these factors are known as the social determinants of health. In fact, it is estimated that up to 80% of the health we experience is the result of the social and environmental factors that we live with. It turns out that this information is also not readily available to use for health systems and health care professionals. We need to do better.

At Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the largest provider of hospital care for children in California and a top 10 children’s hospital in the United States, we have been working on doing better and building the future of advancing health by bringing social and environmental data to the bedside. We did this by bringing together expert physicians and scientists from different disciplines at CHLA, the Keck School of Medicine, and the Spatial Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California. We couldn’t do it alone. Our team from CHLA and the University of Southern California partnered with AccuWeather’s atmosphere and data science experts to provide critically important high-resolution data on the environment. By integrating AccuWeather’s high-resolution data on factors such as air quality, UV index, humidity, and other environmental determinants of health with data from our patient’s records, we now have the ability to address critical questions about

the impact of environmental exposures on children; the most vulnerable group to the impact of the environment and the health of the planet. Together, we are reimagining what the future of pediatric health and healthcare delivery looks like when we start incorporating social and environmental data into our hospital, our practice, our research, and advocacy efforts.

The result has led to new and innovative opportunities to identify and reduce the impact of environmental exposures on children across a pediatric health system.

We started by asking a fundamental question: “What is the air quality at home like for all of our patients who receive care at our hospital?” We started with air quality because it is one of the greatest risks to health. We also started with air quality because if we could identify patients at greatest risk, we could take intentional evidence based approaches to reducing the adverse impact of the environment on health. According to the World Health Organization, “by reducing air pollution levels, countries can reduce the burden of disease from stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and both chronic and acute respiratory diseases, including asthma.” To put that into a more tangible context, according to the University of Chicago’s Air Quality Life Index, “the average person in the world would have gained 2 years and 3 months of life expectancy if fine particulate pollution were reduced to meet the WHO guideline.”

Importantly, while our question was fundamental and seemingly basic at first glance, getting to the answer required the collaborative work of physicians, public health experts, data scientists, spatial science researchers, and our AccuWeather partnership. After several years, we now have the ability to answer this question and much more. We now can study the impact of many key factors in the environment on the health of all children at our hospital, identify the children at highest risk, and start to help healthcare professionals implement targeted evidence based interventions to improve the care we provide to our patients.

We have made incredible progress connecting environmental determinants of health with all of our patient records at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. We have done this by keeping patients our top priority, embracing the diversity of our patient population, ensuring patient privacy, and building for the future. For the first time, we can now understand how environmental exposures impact our children across an entire pediatric health system. This unlocks our ability to better understand disparities in exposures and health as well as find opportunities to intervene and reduce the risks of the environment on the health of our children.

We started by asking a fundamental question:

“What is the air quality at home like for all of our patients who receive care at our hospital?”

Jonathan M. Tan MD, MPH, MBI, FASA

By analysing clinical data from CHLA and environmental data from AccuWeather, our research team has identified key patterns and risks for children, leading to the opportunity to target interventions, resources, and advocacy efforts to improve the health of children in the community. This pioneering work underscores the commitment of our team at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, University of Southern California, and AccuWeather to safeguard the well-being and health of the next generation amidst growing environmental challenges. At this stage, our goal is to demonstrate that large disparities in environmental exposure exist across the entire children’s hospital and contribute to health disparities and outcomes among pediatric patients. And yet this is just the beginning. Environmental exposures, including extreme weather and climate change, directly impact the health and safety of our children.

We’re working with our partners at AccuWeather to scale our innovative work to the rest of the country and make the leap from describing problems to prescribing solutions. Our team plans to keep pushing the groundbreaking research on the environmental determinants of children’s health beyond air quality to extreme weather and climate change. This approach uniquely brings together the science of medicine, environmental health, spatial science, data science, and patient safety.

Patients come from all over California and beyond to receive care at CHLA. The team from CHLA and University of Southern California, together with AccuWeather are now taking the next steps to expand the scope of research to the other children’s

hospitals across the United States. To build a healthcare system of the future that is prepared to care for impacts of the environment and climate on the children of today, our research must scale with more patients, more health systems, and more data.

About AccuWeather’s Climate Impact Program

AccuWeather’s Climate Impact Program connects researchers, journalists, and community advocates to environmental data with the goal of accelerating climate solutions by advancing education and awareness, deepening research and understanding, and fostering action. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is one of AccuWeather’s key flagship program partners working on health and air quality alongside the Fred Hutch Cancer Center and the University of Chicago’s Air Quality Life Index.

Live Air Pollution Map of Los Angeles - Plume Labs by AccuWeather

About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Founded in 1901, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is at the forefront of pediatric medicine and is the largest provider of hospital care for children in California. Children’s Hospital is home to renowned experts who work together across disciplines to deliver inclusive and compassionate care, and drive advances that set pediatric standards across the nation and around the globe. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles delivers a level of care that is among the best in the world for a truly diverse population of children. The Hospital is consistently ranked in the top 10 in the nation on U.S. News & World Report’s Honor Roll of Best Children’s Hospitals, including No. 1 in California and No. 1 in the Pacific U.S. region.

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles embraces the hospital’s mission to create hope and build healthier futures. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is among the top 10 children’s hospitals for National Institutes of Health funding. The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles supports the full continuum of research, allowing physicians and scientists to translate discoveries into treatments and bring answers to families faster. The pediatric academic medical center also is home to one of the largest training programs for pediatricians in the United States. And the hospital’s commitment to building strong communities is evident in CHLA’s efforts to fight food insecurity, enhance health education and literacy, and introduce more people to careers in health care.

Empowering communities with knowledge: Introduction to Air Quality Course

Paul Day speaks to the people involved with the Introduction to Air Quality Course, launched by the Environmental Research Group at Imperial College London.

Launched in September 2023, the Introduction to Air Quality Course, led by Dr. Diana Varaden from Imperial’s Environmental Research Group (ERG), aims to equip community leaders with essential knowledge about air quality. The goal is to empower them to disseminate this information effectively and take meaningful action within their communities.

The idea behind the course began to take shape in March of last year, when the Environmental Research Group hosted an air quality-focussed course for the team from Impact on Urban Health, part of the charitable Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation.

Impact on Urban Health fund projects which address health inequalities that particularly affect people living in cities –children’s health and food, multiple long-term conditions, the health effects of air pollution, and children’s mental health.

‘We have a long partnership with them,’ Diana Varaden explains, ‘and thought we could give them a better understanding of air quality: the causes, effects and all the other things that we now have in the course. Because they are funders, we thought it would be good for them to know where these issues are, so they can then invest their money properly.’

So ERG put together a one day workshop for the core team.

‘They spent the day with us for a compressed course and they thought it was really useful,’ explains Diana. ‘They particularly liked that we allowed enough time for them to ask questionsall of these things that they were not sure about - in a small group with the researchers right there.’

So impressed were Impact on Urban Health that it occurred to them that the course should take on a life of its own, become something they could offer to their partners, people currently working with them or those that might in the future.

Impact themselves provided funding for eight courses. It was decided to host two a year, one of which would be a two-day, in-person event held at Imperial; the other an online course, taking place over two evenings. An online course at the end of this month (June) will represent the halfway mark of the programme.

Priority for the course is given to people working with Impact on Urban Health but once all those are onboard, the courses are opened up. ‘We have people from NGOs, councillors, GPs, clinicians, all sorts of different careers.’

Diana says, ‘People that don’t know much about air pollution, but are really interested in the topic and can use that information and that knowledge to then go and work within community settings and do something about it with the with the right facts.’

Starting from the basics, the course delves into the research and evidence surrounding air quality, shedding light on its impact and the varying degrees of susceptibility among different groups. Led by experienced academic staff and researchers from the ERG, the course content is tailored to be accessible to a lay audience while providing comprehensive insights into the subject matter.

The in-person event covers the following topics:

Day 1:

• What is air pollution? What are the sources? and how we measure air pollution?

• Evaluating the health impacts of indoor and outdoor pollutants on vulnerable populations within the urban environment

• How are we exposed to air pollution in our daily lives? And how can we communicate air pollution as a health risk?

• Air pollution and construction sites

Day 2:

• Theory and practice of engaging publics in air quality discussions

• London Air Quality Network and Breathe London Network

• Air pollution Action and Policy

• Air pollution and climate change: two sides of the same coin

“On the first course we had a paediatrician who came all the way from Manchester who was absolutely amazed with the course.”

Dr. Diana Varaden

Coordinator

of Introduction to Air Quality Course

The online event is shorter, lasting a total of five hours as opposed to nine for the in-person. ‘We wanted to make the online course shorter, so people can attend in the evening,’ explains Diana. ‘It’s more targeted at people that definitely can’t take days off. We have some councillors attending in the evening, we have some doctors as well, so we’ve tried to make it as short as possible. But in the session that I deliver for the online course, I tried to combine two sessions into one, covering the exposure and the community involvement. And in the first session for the online course David Green talks a bit about Breathe London, so people will still hear about that.’

Even though the courses are free, thanks to the funding from Impact on Urban Health, a bursary is also available because, as Diana explains: ‘we don’t want the fact that people can’t afford to be out of work for a day to be an impediment to them attending the course. So we’re levelling the playing field for people that want to attend but they don’t have the option financially, for example, if they need childcare.’

It transpires that attendees of the course are as enthusiastic about it as the original Impact team were. One of the people who attended in March was Jacks Lampon from Coopers Lane Bike Bus. ‘This course has filled me with so much knowledge, from the composition of the air we breathe,’ she says. ‘Who and what is polluting the air, the engineering of the measuring hardware, through to the UK’s medical history and patient trials. I now feel confident to discuss the impacts of air pollution, how it relates to the activities of my group, and empowered to push further for change. This was a very enjoyable two days of intense education which has filled me with confidence to enhance the work I do. What an incredible experience to learn from leading academics on such a powerful course and I highly recommend it to anyone working within the community’

‘Jacks has been doing some fantastic work with the cycling bus and is a very, very committed person,’ says Diana. ‘And on the first course we had a paediatrician who came all the way from Manchester who was absolutely amazed with the course. He was saying that we should really have an educational offering like this for healthcare professionals, because there is nothing like this for them. He felt it would enable them to start these conversations with patients, with the authority that knowledge gives you.’

By way of follow-up, three months after the course, the ERG team ask participants to let them know what actions they have taken as a result of participating in the course. Some of the responses they have had include:

• I have told others and have requested that all Councillors should attend.

• I do a bit of walking and always try to take pathways with least exposure to vehicle pollution and keep away from building work sites.

• Incorporating into my clinical practice. Also, thinking of disseminating this knowledge to others

• I have been actively talking about air pollution with friends, family and neighbours.

• Delivered training to colleagues

• I have used the information in the course to better understand air pollution and communicate it to funders through my job.

Matt Towner, Programme Director of the health effects of air pollution programme at Impact on Urban Health, said: ‘We’re delighted there is so much interest to learn more about air pollution - the single greatest environmental risk to health. Air pollution devastates people’s health around the world, particularly in urban areas. It is not only a public health crisis, but a social justice issue, one that disproportionately affects the most marginalised communities. But there are ways to improve air quality, and quickly. The popularity of this course is testament to Dr Varaden’s ability as a tutor and we hope that everyone who subscribes leaves with practical tools for improving air quality.’

The next online course is scheduled for the end of June, followed by an in-person course slated for the end of September.

Individuals interested in attending the course will need to complete an Expression of Interest form in the first instance. For further information, contact the Course Administrator Swati Jain swati.jain@imperial.ac.uk

with Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah

Unquestionably the most relentless and most recognisable figure advocating for clean air, Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah is, in the best possible way, a force of nature. It is probably unnecessary to explain that she is the mother of the only person to have air pollution listed as the cause of death on a death certificate, and the foundation subsequently set up in her daughter’s name - the Ella Roberta Foundation - is a hugely influential voice in this sphere.

You couldn’t appear at our National Air Quality Conference last year because you were being presented with a CBE by the king. How was that? Mostly, I am really happy that it was for ‘public health’. It told me that there are people who recognise the work I’m trying to do. I did worry how people in my community were going to see it, but my thing is clean air and raising awareness and I have to keep my focus on that. But I think most people saw that genuinely it was because of my campaigning.

You have been extremely angered by Rishi Sunak recently, with his tirade against what he called Britain’s ‘sick note culture’. What would you say to him about that?

What was it he said? ‘Surely we all can’t be getting that ill?’ Well, when I was in school, one in nine people got cancer. It’s now one in two. We are getting more ill.

Unfortunately, our prime minister puts down Net Zero as if it’s a little green issue that only the middle classes are concerned with, but it’s to do with health and prevention of non-communicable diseases like heart attacks, asthma attacks, dementia, obesity, low birth weight, suicide, depression.

Air pollution is a contributory factor. And I stress the word ‘contributory’ because I don’t want someone to say, ‘She always thinks everything’s down to air pollution’. No, I don’t. It’s about water, it’s about air, it’s about diet, it’s about lack of exercise. But we all have to breathe. So air and water, they are major factors and they are both so dirty. And obviously, the poorer you are, the less access you have to clean air. But there’s this suspicion: ‘You little plebs, you’re all taking time off, aren’t you?’

And it’s nothing new by the way, Ella came across it. I took her to the council to get a blue badge because there were days where she couldn’t walk from here to the Fox and Firkin and there were other days she could run around. And that day, because she was well, I took her to the Council and they said ‘Oh, she walked here. She’s okay.’ This was in November 2012. She died in February 2013. Having got air pollution on the death certificate was a victory but are you slightly disappointed that she remains the only one?

That’s true, but also remember, Ella’s asthma was very rare. She had one of the worst cases of asthma ever recorded in this country. I spoke to Dr Frank Kelly about this, and he said that in order for that to happen again, someone would need to be as ill as my daughter was, and that weighs heavy on me, that someone would have to suffer to that degree. It’s not something you wish on someone else is it? And especially not a child. So, in a way, I kind of don’t want it. I am undecided.

The fact that only Ella has air pollution on her death certificate has been weaponised in some quarters, used as a counter to claims that air pollution kills many people... When they start saying ‘Only one person died’, I think, are they just being silly, or do they just not get data? When there’s high air pollution, more people die from asthma attacks. It’s not that hard. But they would need to change the way some deaths are recorded for it to go on a death certificate. Doctors have been asking that question and maybe in the future things may change? I don’t know. But we do know that when there are high air pollution days, more people are admitted to hospital with asthma and heart attacks.

So, let’s say you have a heart condition, you take medication for it, you are okay. Then, on a high air pollution day, you have a heart attack, and you go to a hospital and you die. Did you die because it’s a high air pollution day? That’s what they would need to work out. The ULEZ expansion brought a lot of people out of the woodwork. Were you surprised at how angry people were getting?

When ULEZ first came in it obviously made a major impact and it will make an impact in outer London too because we’ve seen the health data. But are people trying to tell me that air pollution stops at the North and South Circular? But everyone’s an expert now, aren’t they? Even if Sir Stephen Holgate was sitting here explaining, they would still argue with it.

ULEZ is about lowering emissions but it is not a cure. It is not going to make up for wood burning. Even if you have 100% compliant cars, and people are still wood burning all over the place, PM2.5 is still going to be high. PM2.5 was high, even during lockdown when there were no cars on the road. But NO2 went down. So we know that much.

It’s not going to happen overnight but let’s have a look at the data at the end of the year. It is a good thing, especially for young children who are developing lungs because, asthma wise, we’re still very poor compared to the rest of Europe. Children between eight and 12 still die from asthma in the capital. We still have a quarter of a million children with an asthma diagnosis in London. For me, this is what it’s about. Someone in Bromley, actually a young child wrote to me and said, ‘Oh, I hope you’re still going to campaign for me, although my parents don’t like you’. And I said, don’t worry about that. I used to be a teacher. I’m quite used to going up against parents when need be. There is a lot of positive campaigning going on at school level and children are getting really involved. It almost seems that they are more aware of the problem than adults…

They are, children are great and they have a good understanding about the whole climate crisis - they understand it even more than I do. My specialism is air pollution. But look at the 18 to 30s, the ones that can’t buy a house because they can’t afford it, this is something they have taken on board. They’re going to live on the planet longer, so that’s why it concerns them more.

Speaking of children, you’re becoming more concerned with indoor air quality these days, aren’t you?

I read an article that said after COVID, 100,000 children hadn’t gone back to school. So, I had a look into it. Some have got long COVID, some just got used to being at home but one of the things we don’t realise is the air quality in school isn’t great and people are getting reinfected. Catherine Sutton, who used to be my secretary at the foundation, was into things like HEPA Hoovers, so we persuaded Mayor Khan to introduce 200 air filtration systems into schools in London. But there’s 1,843 schools in total so, Sadiq, you’ve got a long way to go.

Over the next two to three years, this is something that I really want to push. Because I do worry that if you’ve got over 100,000 children off school, what does the future hold for them? They’re not in education or training, what are they going to be doing? How are they contributing? So, if having filtration in school or public spaces, is going to make us healthier, then I’m going to push that. I see it as a way of combining my roles: air policy and having a role in schools as well.

I believe that we focused on outdoor air pollution for quite a while, and we need to refocus on indoor. I think indoor is really vital and I’m sure people in public health will say the same. Outdoors was so bad, we had to do something, but we did take our eye off the ball with indoor. It claims 3.2 million lives worldwide, whereas outdoors is 4.8 million.

A lot of the problem with indoor air is to do with cooking in the Global South but we have our own challenges in this country. When all the elections have calmed down, you’ll hear more about us pushing this.

You touched on the fact that the poorer people in society are more affected by air pollution, which brings us on to Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, of which you’re not a fan....

“I would like clean air to become a human right all over the world. I believe no matter where you live, where you come from your race, sexuality, religion, doesn’t matter, you’re entitled to breathe clean air.”

Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah

When I first heard the phrase Low Traffic Neighbourhood, it was really exciting. I thought, oh, this is brilliant. Then you put it into practice and, oh, it’s not that great. Then you look at the data and how it’s collected and who’s behind it. Not that great.

I’m glad you gave David Smith an opportunity to write something about it [AQN Issue 23]. He has been chastised for no reason and I feel very strongly about it. I think LTNs involve politics. LTNs are not about clean air - they were initially to do with social distancing, but they’ve been re-branded.

I am all for anything that’s going to reduce traffic and create cleaner air and LTNs started off really well. But when one opened here, someone rang me and said Rosamund! Have you been on to Springbank Road? Have you seen what’s going on? Down one part of Springbank Road it was chocker with traffic, then you look down the other side of it - the same road - there was nothing!

I said to Damien Egan [former Mayor of Lewisham] you are ruling over an apartheid system. You have the same road, one half - the poorer half - there’s lots of traffic. The other half, there’s nothing. What is going on?

Then I realised a lot of people in my movement supported it. So, let me find out why: Councillors were living in it. Other campaigners were living in it. So, I thought, oh I see: I’m alright jack. This is what this is.

And the other thing I realised is, when you live next to a busy road, like the South Circular, don’t have an LTN near you because the road is busy enough already. It’s busy with noise pollution, light pollution, and our road - the South Circular bit - was always busy at rush hour but since the LTN, it’s seven days a week. Doesn’t matter what time of day.

So, I thought, let me have a look at this policy, really look at it. Let’s look at who owns cars. Well, the poorest people, believe it

or not, are not going to own a car, they’d be at a bus stop over there. But the richer part of the neighbourhood, the ones that live in a conservation area, they love the LTNs. They can drive around them, but they don’t want anyone else to. It’s a bit like having a private road via the back door. Years ago, when you said private road, you knew it was exclusive. That’s what they want.

I would have had more respect for them if they’d given up their cars. But no. When it was summer, out came the electric bikes but have a look at the DVLA, how many people have given up their cars? Not many. So, what that told me is, ‘we’re still going to drive and we’re going to drive on your road, the South Circular, but we don’t want you on our road’. Therefore, let me look into this because the council are really mouthy about this, in support of this. So I looked at the breakdown of where their votes come from and, of course, in the poorer neighbourhoods, they don’t vote as much do they?

If you can see over there, that’s the A20. That’s normal now, stationary. Cars are idling. So, for Lewisham, the sad truth is, the asthma rates have gone up. And the South Circular, the road that ended Ella’s life, is now worse.

So, we get all this fake data. One of the reasons why the air is cleaner is Sadiq has bailed them out with ULEZ and people have cleaner cars, but the actual congestion? That hasn’t changed. I think it is one of the worst policies ever. And it’s interesting that recently it took Sadiq to sit in the traffic in Streatham LTN and suddenly, like that, it’s gone. I need to invite him to Lewisham.

I think it’s very unfair that it depends where you live. If you live, let’s say in that house over there, near a main road, you are going to breathe in more fumes. And with the traffic idling on the A20, those people are going to be more impacted. Now, the LTNs are not here. They are in the leafier parts. And look, I’m not saying people shouldn’t cycle because my kids do. But you shouldn’t have to close off a whole road for a whole day. Stage it at least, in the morning, like school streets, shut it off during the busy periods. They can cycle and then reopen it.

You’re not actually campaigning against LTNs though, are you?

No, but it hasn’t done what is meant to do. I thought it would allow people to give up driving, but that hasn’t happened. I Googled the predicted number of cars going forward. We’re at 38.7 million now and the prediction is this is going to go up. And then we have a Prime Minister, who stands in front of a nation, and says there’s a war against motorists...? There’s no war against motorists! Not being a hypocrite, I have to admit that when my children were younger, I drove more, but they walked to school. And I came today on the DLR. The only places I tend to drive to is the places that don’t have public transport in Winter because I’m concerned - or my kids are - about my safety. But I would not be able to tell you the last time I drove to central London. It’s not because of ULEZ anything. It’s just that if I get a train from Hither Green to London Bridge, I’ll be there in 14 minutes.

But also, I have the privilege - and I’ve got to say that - of being able to afford it. Because you’re asking people not to drive but they keep on increasing train fares. I don’t understand it.

I think it would be very good if, during the summer holidays when parents are at home with children, they do special classes to encourage people to use public transport.

And if you spend a fortune on a season ticket, you should have the privilege of having a seat, you shouldn’t have to stand up. Because when I travel to Germany and Sweden, I envy them. Their public transport is clean, reliable - actually not so much Germany - but people feel safe. Whenever I go out in London, and I’m coming home to Hither Green, when I’m walking home to from the station to my house, my kids are like, ‘Are you walking in the middle of the road mum?’ Because you do worry about your safety, but you shouldn’t have to.

But the majority of Londoners don’t actually drive. If you live in Zone One, Zone Two, you are laughing, but as you come further out, it gets more difficult.

I haven’t done the Superloop yet, I need to do it, I’m such a big fan of buses, but they’ve cut them haven’t they? I remember when the kids were younger. I used to get the 171 all the way from here to Southbank. Now you’ve got to change in Elephant and Castle.

And it would definitely help if buses weren’t stuck in traffic because I have a really good friend who doesn’t drive but because of the LTNs she’s getting to work later and later because her bus is stuck in it.

What are your hopes for the future, in terms of air quality?

I need to dream big, so I would like clean air will become a human right all over the world. I believe no matter where you live, where you come from your race, sexuality, religion, doesn’t matter, you’re entitled to breathe clean air.

That right needs to be enshrined in law, no matter what country you come from, so politicians can’t change it. Air pollution is killing 7 million a year worldwide and that number needs to come down. I have to live in hope that this is going to happen, that the air is going to improve.

The air has improved since the 50s - let’s not lie about it - but what we now have is we have a different type of air pollution, an invisible type. So my hope is that we will continue to reduce it and there will be public health campaigns everywhere like for smoking and people will get a better understanding of it.

But education is going to be part of it. And it means I’m going to have to continue to work hard, to go around the world. And we’re not the worst, by far, but you must always start off in your own backyard before you go elsewhere. I believe that in order for people to give up their cars, public transport needs to be better. So, you need a government who’s going to invest in the infrastructure.

I want to see the money from HS2 invested in transport systems in those areas. People are very proud of where they live, and some people live in rural areas with one bus an hour. I want those type of things to improve. I would love there to be a cycling scheme in schools. This is my dream. The roads need to be shared and I want them to be safer. I’d like people to be kinder, when you see someone on a bike, take a take a deep breath. You don’t need to run them over.

But mostly, I would like clean air in legislation, in all countries. And I don’t want people to see it as a little ‘green thing’. I want people to understand that if the air is cleaner, our health is better. And having lived with a chronically ill child, it is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. So, I have hope for the future, I do. Clean air will make us all healthier. And that’s my hope. I pray for the next generation, my children’s generation, that they breathe cleaner air, that they are much healthier and they contribute positively to society. Is that quite a good thing to hope for?

I think it’s a great thing to hope for.

Air Quality News’ Paul Day with Rosamund at PLACE Ladywell in Lewisham

Wanton acts: Ecocide, clean air and climate justice

Global support is growing for new criminal laws to stop widespread and long-lasting damage to the natural world. Martin Guttridge-Hewitt examines the proposed legislature and asks how this could help tackle the air pollution crisis.

In March this year Forensic Architecture published an analysis of Palestinian farms. The London-based research group, which investigates everything from state violence and war crimes to ecological catastrophes, used satellite imagery to map environmental conditions across 2,000 sites. The resulting report, No Traces of Life: Israel’s Ecocide in Gaza 2023-2024, laid bare the devastating impact of war on our planet.

The Rome Statute, which governs the International Criminal Court [ICC], requires any excessive attack that knowingly causes widespread, severe, long-term damage to the natural world to be considered a breach of the Geneva Conventions on human rights. Theoretically, this should prevent military targeting of water supplies, food production and supply chains.

But, as conflicts from Syria to Ukraine continue to remind us, there’s no guarantee belligerents will abide by the rules, which are first and foremost designed to protect people - environmental safeguarding occurs by proxy. And there’s a caveat, too. Legislation only applies when the internal apparatus that would normally oversee justice for ecological incidents is no longer functioning. This normally means instances of war, genocide, a coup d’etat, and where crimes against humanity are taking place.

Until recently, no laws existed specifically to stop the destruction of nature in all contexts. But what if we did hold private businesses and governments to account when they were responsible for major environmental harm? What if you could prosecute a CEO or national leader on the grounds of ‘ecocide’?

The term itself was officially defined in 2021 by the Independent Expert Panel on the Legal Definition of Ecocide, and Stop Ecocide International wants to see this inscribed to the Rome Statute. The campaign has found political and public support across the world, and the list of countries developing or on the cusp of passing laws which essentially look to introduce personal liability for environmental damage is rapidly growing. So, rather than fines at an organisational level, perpetrators could soon receive jail sentences.

Around the same time as Forensic Architecture’s analysis, the European Parliament voted to stop ‘unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment.’ To put that another way, member states have decided to criminalise cases ‘comparable to ecocide’.

Emerging from the ecological spectre of former-president and notorious Amazon deforestation and industrialisation advocate Jair Bolsonaro last year, Brazil already has an ecocide bill making its way through the legislative process. Peru, Mexico, the Netherlands, Sweden, Chile, Italy, Spain, Samoa, Vanuatu, Romania, Estonia, and Ukraine are also throwing weight behind the movement.

From Stop Ecocide International “ The beauty of ecocide law is that it compliments existing environmental legislation and regulation. There should be no need for any new regulation.”

Sue Miller

‘There have already been a number of initiatives to introduce ecocide legislation in the UK, including, recently, a private members’ bill introduced by Baroness Boycott,’ says Sue Miller, Head of Global Networks at Stop Ecocide International.

‘While that will automatically fall with the dissolution of parliament prior to the General Election, as the conversation around ecocide grows globally and nationally, we are optimistic that ecocide law will take its place in the UK… whether as a piece of domestic legislation or following ratification of the international law at the ICC.

‘Once in place, it will act as a powerful deterrent against the most serious acts of environmental harm by creating personal liability for the key decision-makers behind the most environmentally harmful acts,’ she continues. ‘The beauty of ecocide law is that it compliments existing environmental legislation and regulation. There should be no need for any new regulation, although government agencies and businesses are likely to want to review their practices in the light of it and adjust them, if necessary, to ensure that their activities remain within the safe boundaries.’

Here in the UK, an ecocide law could lead to criminal prosecution for the sewage and wastewater crisis wreaking devastation at coastal and inland locations. The ‘toxic cocktail’ run off from our highways, as described in a new report by the Chartered Institute for Water and Environmental Management and Stormwater Shepherds, may also be grounds for conviction. Not forgetting those responsible for 13,000 tonnes of oil spilt into the North Sea between 2018 and 2023. By nature, legislation covers a broad range of incident types and environments, and this is its strength.

‘The definition of ‘environment’ in ecocide law comprises “the earth, its biosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere, as well as outer space”,’ Miller replies when we ask if ecocide could help tackle the planet’s air quality crisis. ‘Air pollution is a pervasive harm. As well as damaging public health, it contributes to environmental harm such as global warming and ocean temperature rise. These lead to the disruption we are seeing play out around the world. Indeed, habitat loss and species decline are a consequence of air pollution as much as they are consequences of other, more visible causes.’

Last year, Belgium became the first country in the world to ratify ecocide in its penal code. And even if this hadn’t happened, the country would now be working on legislation following the European Parliament vote on ‘wanton acts’. That decision means all 25 member states have until 2026 to develop and implement their own domestic laws.

Meanwhile, here in the UK, Scotland could become the first home nation to introduce similar framework if an initiative led by Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon is successful in passing law under devolved powers. Speaking to Air Quality News, she points out that Scotland is one of the most nature-depleted countries on the planet, and the UK-wide picture is similarly alarming. Britain has ‘lost’ 19% of its species since 1993, and one-in-six is now considered endangered.

‘By preventing ecocide and changing the behaviours of corporations, senior decision makers and those who put nature at risk, we can free up time and resources to promote nature recovery in Scotland,’ explains Lennon, who cites Belgian law and Stop Ecocide International’s ICC framework as key blueprints. ‘By building on this example and the work of the EU… the Scottish Government and other political parties has the opportunity to support my proposals for ecocide law in [our] parliament.’

‘We are currently analysing the responses to the public consultation on my members’ Bill proposal. Ahead of drafting the legislation, I will be engaging with stakeholders to ensure that the proposals are robust and cover all aspects of the environment,’ she continues. ‘I would like to see a framework emerging that protects our environment, including the air, soil and water we depend on.’

“I will be engaging with stakeholders to ensure that the proposals are robust and cover all aspects of the environment. I would like to see a framework emerging that protects our environment, including the air, soil and water we depend on.”

Monica Lennon Labour member of the Scottish Parliament

According to Lennon, the priority is developing a framework that supports existing laws, much in the same way as Miller suggested. And to be truly ‘fit for purpose’, regulations must be able to deal with the ‘triple threat’ of climate change, nature loss, and pollution. The parliamentary bill is yet to be finalised, and the definition of ‘environment’ is likely to be a crucial factor in the response.

Should a law come to fruition, though, it could be a gamechanger. Effective ecocide legislation means anywhere significant harm to nature has occurred it can be considered a criminal offence. Or that’s the expectation. How close we’ll get to that, of course, is anyone’s guess right now. Nevertheless, it’s important to recognise this as another step towards closing gaps in existing environmental laws.

Horror stories: Films capture the consequences of living in polluted spaces

Journalist Emily Whitehouse speaks to the team behind a new film project designed to showcase the heartbreaking realities of what it’s like living in poor quality accommodation.

Films aren’t new and mostly they aren’t real. However, a Bristolbased research team, known as Tackling Root Causes Upstream of Unhealthy Urban Development (TRUUD), is using films to raise awareness of a very real problem that can’t be ignored: air pollution. The organisation have commissioned three separate short films, two of which follow the lives of families forced to live in homes plagued with damp and mould and in areas with high pollution levels.

‘For years our research has focused on how to improve unhealthy standards in the built environment, and we decided to use films as a way to influence decision makers and raise awareness,’ said Dr Joe White of the University of West England in Bristol, who commissioned the films. ‘Behind the data there are real people and we wanted to bring their stories to life. We decided to use film to showcase this because young people especially are more likely to look at a film, if it’s not too long, rather than sit down and read through a dense academic paper.’

Dr White has been working as a senior research fellow at the University of West England since 2015 and joined forces with TRUUD, based at the University of Bristol, last year to create the three films. Each picture focuses on the mental and physical repercussions that come with living in poorly ventilated and cramped homes in environments suffering from poor air quality and a lack of green space.

The first film follows Samuel and his two young sons who live in a 15th floor one-bedroom flat and share the same bed. The second looks at Shakar and his family, who are living in a property situated by a main road in Manchester. They are forced to suffer from severe noise and traffic pollution and his wife, and two of his sons, are struggling with asthma. The final film outlines Kadra and Wendy’s story who are trying to raise their children in damp homes.

The hope is that these films will be to help educate people on how dangerous it is to live in such environments. In recent months, the government have announced new measures to help improve living conditions. Uppermost among these is the introduction of ‘Awaab’s Law’, which puts the onus on social landlords to investigate and fix damp and mould problems in properties within a strict time frame.

However, Dr White insists that the latest statistics from the government show that more help is needed, given that two million people in the UK currently live in damp and/or mouldy homes. He is similarly keen to raise awareness about the blight of traffic on those forced to live close to it and Shakar’s story is particularly impactful. A family whose dream home slowly became a nightmare as, one by one, they succumbed to debilitating respiratory problems.

Dr White says that whilst it is heartbreaking that people lose their lives to air pollution, people don’t talk about how mentally draining it must be to be scared of your own home or too afraid to step outside.

With this in mind, Dr White says the team quickly got to work creating the films. Whilst making them, they agreed that one of the most important factors was shooting in different locations to show air pollution isn’t just a regional issue, it’s ‘a national crisis’.

‘We commissioned a TV company called Drummer TV who are local to Bristol and when it came to shooting the damp and mould film, we had some of our team head up to Manchester,’ Dr White says.

‘The film is split into two parts and details the stories of Wendy, who’s based in Manchester, and Kadra, who’s in Bristol. We thought it was vital to include the different locations as although the cities are located at opposite ends of the country, and are governed by different authorities, these families are facing the same problem. We are also aware that damp and mould problems don’t just appear in one type of property, so we thought it was important to include two different types of lets. Kadra lives in a socially rented home and Wendy lives in a private let.’

The work TRUUD and Drummer TV have devoted to raising awareness around the situation has been exceptional. TRUUD were given a budget of £10,000 to create the films which have already been viewed eleven and a half thousands times (at the time of writing).

Dr White says ‘ten thousand of the views have gone on Wendy and Kadra’s film which just goes to show how important the issue of damp and mould is at the moment. Following the success of these films, some of our researchers are now working with national government to try introduce tools that will measure and analyse the standards of rented properties to ensure people’s health’s aren’t at risk.’

Moreover, Dr White claims that making the films has presented her with the chance to start making a difference. She says ‘I’ve recently been working on public engagement with Bristol City Council who have plans to introduce a low traffic neighbourhood scheme but aren’t receiving support from local residents. We’re hoping that if people watch the films that myself and TRUUD have created, they will see how dangerous it can be to live in areas with high air pollution levels.’

Although the film project has been wrapped up, Dr White explains that her work with them is far from over. ‘This project has given us so much food for thought about how media could perhaps be the best tool for raising awareness about issues in this country. Whilst working on this project we always knew we wanted to create three short pictures, but now we’re thinking about creating even shorter visual aids that could help councils and organisations looking to implement new schemes that would help improve air quality standards in England.’

Dr White adds: ‘We’re thinking they could be in the form of small graphics with key statistics on them so people could take them to meetings as a way of backing up their argument. We believe people in this country could be doing more to help address poor air quality levels, however we’re glad to see people have found our films and will continue to raise awareness about the dangers associated with air quality.’