Pollution targets

Clean air targets should be brought forward.

The government is clearly delaying on this and their policies are taking us backward rather than forward, eg among other things, approving a Cumbria coalmine.

I have campaigned for many years on air quality, and I have challenged the government on air quality issues directly in parliament on numerous occasions.

In 2019 I pledged to introduce a new Clean Air Act, including a network of clean air zones and an ambitious clean transport strategy to tackle illegal air pollution as a priority, something I stand by, to this day.  I also successfully moved a motion in the House declaring an environment and climate emergency in May of the same year.

I will continue to challenge the government on air quality and the need for targets, directly in parliament; to not do so would be a total dereliction of duty given the importance of this issue to our very existence, in terms of health and climate.