City mayors make joint call for urgent action to tackle UK air pollution

British and Welsh municipal leaders have joined forces to demand that Teresa Mei act immediately on air pollution. Scientists say that at least 40,000 people will die in the UK every year.

A total of 17 mayors and civic leaders representing 20 million nationwide have signed letters asking for a national action plan to clean the country's air and implement it as an urgent matter. Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, mayor Andy Burnham (Greater Manchester), Steve Rotheram (Liverpool City), Dan Jarvis (Sheffield), and Cardiff, Leeds, Newcastle, Southampton

They said: "The air polluted by our country harms our lungs, has a serious impact on the NHS, and loses economic loss during the working day. The poorest and most vulnerable group has an imbalanced influence. "

Give local authorities the authority to regulate emissions through strict air pollution control laws such as taxis and emissions from city private leasing services

Develop a targeted vehicle update program to replace older, more polluted cars, buses and trucks, which will protect local businesses

Provide funds to support the establishment of Clean Air Zone and provide investment in clean buses, taxis and other transportation

This letter also sent to the Prime Minister Philippe Hammond and the Environment Minister Michael Gof after a June national clean air summit where many private leaders gathered to discuss the crisis of air pollution It was done. This event was co-hosted by Mayor of London, UK 100 City Network, Public Policy Research Institute.

"The poorest communities had to deal with the various health problems most affected by contaminated air," says Rotram. "In Liverpool, the average life expectancy of males in this area is shorter than the national average by 7 years. As we can only have one area, we need a national clean air program."

This view was supported by Mayor Bristol Mayor Marvin Reese. "It is unacceptable that life is in danger," he said. "We need the government to play a leading role to support low-income and fragile households and small and medium-sized enterprises that rely on diesel cars to switch to clean cars."

It is a citizen of the major cities of the world, and its health is most at risk of air pollution, so it is the mayor who is most determined to take decisive action to reduce emissions. The Mayor of C40 took action to restrict air pollution, lead the way, learn from each other, and decide solutions suitable for the local environment. In Madrid Mayora Carmena banned car bans from the historic center of the city and announced plans to further restrict the city in the face of particularly serious air pollution. When the vehicle contamination level peaks, due to the crisis countermeasure, it is prohibited that a maximum of 50% of vehicles enter the city center, and public transportation is offered to all users free of charge.

C 40 secretary general, Mark Watts: Mayor of the world can not easily breathe before solving the urban air pollution problem.

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Fight against air pollution? A couple of weeks ago I published the following article - Yes, the discussion on the measures I proposed is urgent, and action beyond that is necessary. Step 1: Traffic regulation: Except for public transportation, make sure that the vehicle is far from the city and secure a parking space to connect to the public transportation in the city. It is only to promote the use of bicycles and walking. If there is little contamination, it is definitely healthy. Maybe this discussion can begin in Congress - can politicians start a good example? Let's add the golden rule.