Wandsworth Greens call for Emergency Intervention into air pollution crisis

A Green Party Activist campaigns against air pollution on Putney High Street

The Green Party is calling for an emergency intervention into the air pollution crisis ahead of the publication of the Government’s draft air quality plan.

“The residents of Wandsworth are all too aware of the impact dirty air has on our quality of life and our health,” said Ben Fletcher, Green Party prospective parliamentary candidate for Putney. “Putney alone breached its annual air pollution limits just five days into 2017. The government should be taking urgent action to tackle air pollution, not fighting to keep its plans a secret.”

The Green party refer to a recent report by the Royal College of Physicians, when stating that air pollution cuts short the lives of around 40,000 people every year, (9,000 of them in London).

“The Green Party is the only party committed to taking immediate action on air pollution, with investment in cycling, walking, electric vehicles and public transport,” said Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader. “We’d also properly fund and expand the Clean Air Zone network and introduce a Vehicle Excise Duty for new diesel vehicles alongside a diesel scrappage scheme.”

The Green party refer to a Parliamentary Q&A on 25th April when they state that the cost of taking a bus, coach or train has soared while the cost of travelling by car has dropped dramatically over the last three decades.

May 4, 2017