Ella’s Law is gaining support from across the political spectrum and from a wide range of health and environmental groups. Read what they have to say below…
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has expressed strong support for the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill:
“I’m proud to join Baroness Jenny Jones and Rosamund Adoo Kissi Debrah to support this Bill in Ella’s memory. Clean air must be a human right. We know that the health burden of exposure to air pollution falls most often on the poorest and most deprived neighbourhoods. This is a social and racial justice issue, and no-one should have their health or life chances harmed because of the air they breathe […]
Watch Mayor Khan’s full statement below:
“This Bill is part of a groundswell of calls to do more about the dangers of air pollution, and there is a growing movement of cross-party politicians, NGOs and ordinary people across the country who are demanding the right to breathe clean air. London’s elected leaders and representatives must also play our part. Crucially, Jenny’s Bill seeks to put the scientific evidence, including the WHO targets for air pollution, at the heart of environmental standards.”
Royal College of Physicians writes to Baroness Jenny Jones:
“After the tragic death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, the Coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths report outlined that legally binding targets based on WHO guidelines would reduce the number of deaths from air pollution in the UK. The RCP strongly supports legally enforceable targets to reduce the amount of fine particulate matter (PM2.5).”
Read the Royal College of Physicians’ full letter here.
Lord Holmes of Richmond (Conservative, speaking at the Bill’s 2nd reading):
“We have heard from noble Lords what the Bill does. It could not be simpler: it enshrines the right to breathe clean air. It is impressive in many ways, not least because continuous improvement on the levels of the pollutants listed, year on year, is built into it. It is also impressive because it looks not just at pollutants that harm humans but at pollutants that extinguish our environment […]
“There could barely be a more fundamental right than breathing clean air, yet millions are denied it daily. It is high time to act, for all of us, so that we can breathe more easily—in short, to clear the air.”
Baroness Deborah Bull (speaking at the Bill’s second reading):
“There are many good reasons to clean up the air that we breathe: reducing deaths from the physical harms caused by pollution and improving the health of the planet are high among them. But the growing evidence of causality between air pollution exposure and psychiatric disorders indicates that interventions to improve air quality, such as those that the Bill proposes, could also play a role in improving mental health prognoses and reducing associated healthcare costs. This suggests just one more reason why the noble Baroness’s Bill makes good sense, and I am happy to offer it my support.”
Simon Birkett, founder and director of Clean Air in London:
“Enshrining the human right to clean air precisely and explicitly in the UK law is the single quickest and most effective way to address the UK’s largest environmental health risk. Overnight, air pollution, including greenhouse gases, would have to be considered in every decision by every public authority in the way that equalities are considered.”
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