Evening Standard Comment: There can be few human rights more fundamental than that to breathe clean air

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for urgent action after analysis showed every hospital and medical centre in the capital is in an area the World Health Organisation classifies as having toxic air pollution (Nick Ansell/PA)
PA Wire
Evening Standard Comment17 February 2022

This week marks the ninth anniversary of the death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah. Her mother, Rosamund, says she would “still be alive today” were it not for air pollution caused by traffic near their home in Lewisham.

Ella became the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death, following a fatal asthma attack aged just nine. Her story is a tragic reminder of the threat to public health caused by London’s toxic air.

Sadiq Khan is right to say the capital faces a “pivotal moment” in its battle against air pollution. Instead of a car-led recovery, we need to invest in our public transport network and redouble our efforts to hit the Mayor’s target of 80 per cent of journeys being made by active or sustainable forms of transport by 2041.

There can be few human rights more fundamental than that of breathing clean air.

Capital bounces back

There is more good news for the central London economy. As we report today, the West End is forecast to return to its historic annual turnover of more than £10 billion within the next two years, according to a new report from property consultancy, Colliers.

There is still some way to go. Figures for last year show that while turnover was up nearly a third from 2020, that still represented only 46 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

Analysts also warn that a lack of high-spending foreign visitors threatens to hold back the recovery, placing more emphasis on the need for a concerted effort to encourage more tourists to return to the city. But almost two years into the pandemic in London, this is another welcome sign that the capital is more than stirring from its slumber, it is getting ready to roar back to life.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in