Air Pollution

(asked on 15th October 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to reduce the UK limits on air pollution in line with those set out by the World Health Organisation.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 25th October 2021

Improving air quality is a priority for the government and we are committed to tackling a diversity of pollutants which harm human health and the environment. The UK has ambitious targets in place to reduce emissions of five damaging air pollutants by 2020 and 2030.

Our landmark Environment Bill will improve air quality by establishing a duty to set a legally binding target to reduce fine particulate matter (PM2.5). In addition, through the wider environmental target framework, we propose a long-term population exposure reduction target for PM2.5. This dual target approach to reducing PM2.5 is supported by expert groups the Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) and the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP).

Government is committed to evidence-based policy making and we will consider the World Health Organization guideline level for PM2.5 alongside independent expert advice and evidence and analysis considering a diversity of factors when setting these targets.

We expect to publish a public consultation on proposed targets in early 2022 and these statutory targets to be laid in Parliament in October 2022.

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