No gold for Boris on environment as air pollution takes shine off Olympics

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Murad Qureshi calls on Mayor to act to reduce air pollution, following revelations that Environment Ministers issued a press release stating that they were downgrading air pollution as a priority- on the same day that smog pollution in London reached a 6 year high.

Despite publically downgrading “air-pollution” as a priority, the next day Environment Ministers were advising businesses to include ‘Air pollution and other emissions’ as the first of five environmental ‘Key Performance Indicators’ for companies. 

Labour London Assembly Member Murad Qureshi said: “Boris based much of his re-election as London Mayor on his ability to get a better deal out of his conservative colleagues in government, now it’s time to prove that he can secure a better deal for Londoners by lobbying to get air pollution reinstated as a government priority.” 

“Each year more than 4,000 people die prematurely in London due to poor air quality. This is an issue that the government and the Mayor have failed to take seriously. It is spectacularly hypocritical that at the same time as advising business to make air pollution a key performance indicator, the government downgrading air pollution as one of their priotities.”

 “The Mayor needs to take real action to stop this invisible killer. He needs to lead the way by investing in electric buses and taxis, speeding up the retro-fitting of existing diesel buses with filters and creating clean air zones around schools. The Mayor also needs to issue smog alerts so that Londoners can take necessary precautions, especially those with respiratory problems.”

Ends

Notes:

Murad Qureshi is a London-wide Assembly Member, and also chairs the London Assembly’s Health and Environment Committee.