Contact:

Catherine Ittner, 07510 376417, cittner@edf.org

 

(LONDON) The Government today released its landmark Environment Bill to tackle England’s biggest environmental challenges. The bill focuses on five major areas, including addressing the air pollution crisis. Many areas of the UK continue to exceed legal limits for safe air quality, resulting in millions of people across England facing health threats every day because of air pollution. Toxic air shortens lives and leads to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, cancer, asthma and other respiratory diseases, especially for more vulnerable people like children.

“With the first Environment Bill in over 20 years, the Government is proposing much-needed steps to clean up our toxic air. But we can’t squander this opportunity with unclear ambitions. We need bolder, comprehensive action that puts our health first and sets firm, legal targets for the root causes of the air pollution crisis. Strong national policies to address transport – the largest source of England’s pollution – will go a long way towards creating healthier, breathable cities.”

• Baroness Bryony Worthington, Executive Director

Environmental Defense Fund Europe has published new framework legislation to tackle air pollution. The proposed bill creates a new duty on Government to eliminate emissions from all controllable sources of pollution by 2030 – essentially making cities 100% clean by that date.

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Environmental Defense Fund Europe (europe.edf.org), a leading international nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships. Connect with us on Twitter and our EDFE blog.