After clearing the House of Lords with exceptionally strong cross-party support, the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill has moved on to the House of Commons. Introduced there by Caroline Lucas MP (Green Party), the Bill's supporters also include Geraint Davies MP (Labour, interim Chair of the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee); Wera Hobhouse …
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Green Party Baroness Jenny Jones and Labour Lord Alf Dubs were among a cross-party group of venerable peers – all born before the 1952 Great Smog of London – who gathered today in Westminster to mark the 70th anniversary of the Great Smog, which killed some 12,000 people and led to the passing of the …
On 2 November, the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill passed its third reading in the House of Lords, with strong cross-party support. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFXR3JRvRzE Baroness Jenny Jones' speech to the House: "I wish to record my thanks to this whole House for letting my Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill progress so quickly after topping the ballot …
In England, people of colour are three times more likely to live in areas with high air pollution, according to new research by environmental organization Friends of the Earth. These areas have pollution levels that are double World Health Organization (WHO) standards for at least one of the two most deadly air pollutants, the study …
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Two coalitions of green groups have submitted a letter of complaint to Defra after the Government failed to meet a legal deadline on setting new environmental targets. The targets, applying to air quality, water quality, nature and waste management, should have been published by 31 October. Two coalitions, representing organisations including the Ella Roberta Foundation, …
Toxic air pollution particles have been found in the lungs, livers and brains of unborn babies, long before they have taken their first breath, reports The Guardian. Researchers said their “groundbreaking” discovery was “very worrying”, as the gestation period of foetuses is the most vulnerable stage of human development. "Thousands of black carbon particles were …
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If you'd like to support the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill and give it the best chance of proceeding into law, do please sign and share the petition here: "The Government should protect people and their climate by adopting Baroness Jenny Jones’ Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill that would enshrine the human right to breathe …
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Scientists have uncovered how air pollution causes lung cancer in groundbreaking research that promises to rewrite our understanding of the disease, reports The Guardian. The findings outline how fine particulates contained in car fumes “awaken” dormant mutations in lung cells and tip them into a cancerous state. The work helps explain why so many non-smokers …
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Rosamund Kissi-Debrah spent seven years after her daughter Ella's death trying to find the answers as to why her previously healthy child had suddenly become so gravely ill. An initial inquest found no connection to air pollution and at no point was air pollution mentioned as a potential factor in the time that Ella was …
The United Nations General Assembly has declared that everyone on the planet has a right to a healthy environment. In a resolution passed at UN headquarters in New York City on 28 July, the General Assembly said climate change and environmental degradation were some of the most pressing threats to humanity's future. It called on …
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