Clean air

Introduction

• Poor air quality is the largest environmental risk to health in the UK, impacting human wellbeing, the natural environment and the economy. It is estimated that human-made air pollution causes up to 43,000 premature deaths per year, in addition to increasing the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular disease. This reduces productivity and participation in the workforce, costing the UK economy £27 billion annually.

• Air quality in the UK has continually improved year on year since 1990. All of the key pollutants, bar ammonia, have fallen by over 70%. Nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution has fallen by 78%, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has decreased by 72%.

• Successive governments have made progress on tackling air pollution. There have been significant decreases in pollution from transport and power generation. However, other sources have been more challenging to reduce. The agricultural sector still contributes 87% of ammonia emissions, and domestic burning produces 29% of the particulate matter present in air pollution. To meet our clean air goals, it is essential to reduce air pollution from these hard-to-abate sectors.

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Background on air pollution

• Air pollution can cause and aggravate health effects for everyone, particularly the most vulnerable in society. New research shows high levels of air pollution are linked with increased risk of mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, depression and anxiety disorders. Additionally, air pollution increases the likelihood of developing serious physical health problems, such as heart disease, dementia and respiratory illness. This puts significant strain on health services and wider society, with the consequences felt most strongly by those who are young or old, sick, or on low incomes. 

• Most air pollution in the UK is caused by the combustion of fossil fuels for transportation, heating and electricity generation. Currently, 29% of air pollution is from domestic wood burning and 12% from road transport. 

• The air pollutants that have the greatest impact on health are nitrogen dioxide, ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). PM2.5 remains the most harmful pollutant, with emissions falling by 47% since 2005. These fine particles penetrate the lungs and bloodstream, leading to increased health issues.  

• Air pollution poses a significant risk to infants, especially from pollutants like PM2.5 and NOx. Consistent exposure stunts lung development, increases the risk of respiratory conditions such as asthma, and can hinder cognitive development. During pregnancy, air pollution has been linked to low birth weight and premature birth. Recent studies have also detected black carbon particles in the organs of unborn babies, raising concerns about fetal development.

• Air pollution is a transboundary problem. Easterly and southerly winds cause air pollution to be transported to the UK. This means 33% of PM2.5 comes from non-UK sources, including Europe, making it hard to achieve clean air without international collaboration. A series of international agreements have been established to solve shared air pollution challenges and allow for technological exchange, including the 1999 Gothenburg Protocol. 

• The number of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) on UK roads has increased. By June 2025, there were 1.5 million EVs in the UK, accounting for 21.6% of new car sales. Grants, incentives, and the ZEV mandate have boosted EV adoption, with projections indicating further growth by 2030.

• There has been a significant reduction in transport-related air pollution. Schemes, like “Cycle to Work”, have led to a reduction in short car journeys through increasing easy access to active transport modes. Additionally, more people are making the shift from cars to public transport, which are often electric. This further reduces air pollution with 30 people travelling on a bus will produce 3.2kg of carbon dioxide per kilometre compared to 4.6kg from 30 small cars (5.8kg for medium ones). 

• Progress has been made to reduce air pollution from heating and domestic burning. DEFRA ran the “Burn Better Campaign” to encourage better burning practices, alongside introducing the “Ready to Burn” certification scheme to improve the quality of wood fuel. All new stoves must also meet “Ecodesign” standards. Additionally, the “Boiler Upgrade Scheme” encouraged households to replace fossil-fueled domestic heating systems by providing grants to install a low-carbon heating system.

• There is significant public support for clean air, with 82% of people in the UK believing that tackling air pollution should be a priority. Additionally, 90% of people are doing at least one thing in their daily lives to reduce outdoor air pollution.

Action by previous Conservative Governments

• Recent Conservative Governments continued the party’s proud clean air legacy, which included passing the Clean Air Act 1956. Notably, the Environment Act 2021 created legally binding long-term targets for lowering concentrations of PM2.5 to 10 µg/m³ and reducing population exposure by 35% by 2040. In 2025, the Office for Environmental Protection stated that the UK is "likely on track" to meet these targets. 

• The Environment Act 2021 also simplified smoke control legislation. It banned the sale of polluting fuels like smoky coal and wet wood, with breaches now a civil offence, and fines ranging from £175 to £300. However, enforcement has been weak, with only four fines issued in response to over 5,600 complaints about illegal wood burning in 2023-2024. More effective enforcement is necessary to reduce the health impacts of PM2.5 from domestic burning.

• The Clean Air Strategy 2019 comprehensively sets out how to tackle all sources of air pollution. This includes improving domestic burning regulations by prohibiting the sale of the most polluting fuels, including house coal, and ensuring only the “cleanest” stoves can be sold. The strategy successfully increased public awareness of air pollution by creating a centralised, easily accessible data portal supported by increased monitoring and modelling tools. A personal air quality messaging system was also launched to provide the public with clear information on the air quality forecast and health advice. Additionally, the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) set out plans for reducing air pollution from hard-to-abate transport, like non-road and maritime transport. This is done by requiring fuel supplies to meet a percentage of their fuel supply with renewable fuels using a certificate trading mechanism based on market rates. Roughly, 3700 million litres equivalent of renewable fuel was supplied in 2023.

Labour's actions in Government

• Labour has committed to achieving clean power by 2030. This involves reducing fossil fuel generation and increasing low-emission, renewable energy production, which will lead to future reductions in air pollution. The last coal power station in the UK closed on 30th September 2024, and renewable energy now produces over 50% of the UK’s electricity supply. However, both of these milestones were only achieved because of the policies of the previous Government. 

• In March 2025, the Government published a review of the Air Quality Information System. The review made a series of recommendations on how to increase public awareness of the link between poor air quality and poor health. This followed the publication of PM2.5 Interim Planning Guidance in October 2024, which proposed incorporating the Environment Act PM2.5 targets into individual planning decisions. 

• The Government has pledged to increase access to public transport. The UK is presently leading Europe in zero-emission bus adoption, with the Government announcing a £38 million investment. This complements the Bus Services Act that ends the registration of new non-zero emission buses from 2030. . However, the bus fare cap was increased to £3 in January 2025, meaning services risk becoming unaffordable for some users. Additionally, the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 and forthcoming Railways Bill seek to renationalise the railways to improve services for passengers and freight, thereby reducing road traffic. However, there are concerns this will increase complexities in service provision rather than providing practical solutions to longstanding problems, like high ticket prices.   

• The Government will commit nearly £300 million in active travel investment for walking, cycling, and wheeling schemes from 2024 to 2026. This funding will support the creation of 300 miles of new pavements and cycle routes, aiming to encourage 30 million additional walking and cycling journeys each year. Active Travel England (ATE) ensures that all new infrastructure meets required standards.

Policy recommendations for councillors:

• Local councils are responsible for delivering many of the policies that improve air quality. This includes monitoring, assessing and improving local quality as laid out by the Environment Act 1995. They can also use their planning and transport powers to deliver cleaner air for their residents.

• Create local Air Quality Management Areas (LAQM). If air pollution breaches national requirements, local authorities are required to implement air quality management areas. This involves a local authority producing a local air quality action plan (AQAP) to reduce air pollution from sources such as buildings, transport and waste management. These LAQM vary in size depending on the extent of the air quality issue. 

• Encourage gentle densification. Gentle densification refers to increasing housing density in existing urban areas through building low and mid-rise buildings instead of sprawling developments that require large amounts of land and are car-dependent. As low-density developments cover a wider area, it is more expensive to connect them to the public transport network. Therefore, councils should encourage, gentle density developments that residents can easily walk, cycle or use public transport to travel. 

• Install and upgrade active travel infrastructure. The previous Conservative  Government set a target of 50% of journeys in towns and cities to be walked or cycled by 2030. This is supported by the present Government, who announced in the 2025 Spending Review a £616 million settlement for Active Travel England (ATE), lasting four years. Additionally, ATE and the 12 mayors of England’s combined local authorities are collaborating to create an initial network of 3500 miles of safer roads for walking and cycling that will be launched in the autumn. 

• Designate smoke control areas. Local authorities can designate smoke control areas where smoke must not be emitted from a chimney and unauthorised fuels cannot be sold unless it is for an exempt appliance. Additionally, local authorities are required to enforce smoke control areas by issuing escalating fines for violations. 

• Create low emission zones (LEZ) or clean air zones (CAZ). Vehicles travelling inside these designated areas must meet a minimum emissions standard or pay a daily charge. This aims to improve air quality by reducing emissions from the most polluting vehicles. Under the NO2 plan in 2018, DEFRA instructed local authorities to introduce a CAZ when NOx breaches legal limits. The plan did acknowledge, however, the significant impact CAZs and LEZs can have on residents and businesses, and allowed a local authority to implement a preferred measure that will deliver the same results. These solutions are generally only suitable when residents have access to affordable alternatives to the car and can adversely penalise drivers who have no access to alternative modes of transport. 

• Introduce School Street Schemes. In 2021, the Government commenced the remaining legislation of part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, giving local authorities the power to control enforcement against moving traffic offences. This enabled local authorities to choose where to introduce “school streets'' to encourage more children to walk or cycle to school. Feedback from successfully implemented school street schemes has seen a reduction in tailpipe emissions by 23%.  

• Implement Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN). Similar to School Street Schemes, LTNs use barriers, bollards and road signs to reduce traffic in residential areas. This aims to reduce pollution and congestion while improving road safety to encourage active travel. Often, LTNs are introduced with temporary measures that can be made permanent following a successful consultation period. 

• Install more EV Infrastructure. Range anxiety and a lack of EV charging points are critical barriers to people buying EVs. Increasing access to EV infrastructure, at home and in public,  is critical to encouraging people to switch.

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