Tackling air pollution as a public health crisis: insights from the Healthy Air Coalition event

CIEH was delighted to attend a thought-provoking event in Westminster hosted by Sarah Coombes MP in collaboration the Healthy Air Coalition.

The event marked the launch of the Coalition’s new report: Making Britain’s air cleaner, healthier and better to breathe: A blueprint for government action on clean air. As members of the coalition, we joined parliamentarians, public health experts, campaigners, and sector professionals to explore the urgent connection between air pollution and health inequalities and the actions needed to address it.

Sarah Coombes MP (pictured above centre with CIEH Policy and Public Affairs Officer Jonathan Pickering and CIEH Policy and Public Affairs Manager Daniella Rotimi) opened the event with a passionate call to action. She highlighted the stark reality of air quality in her West Bromwich constituency, where pollution levels are shockingly twice as high as those in central London. Framing clean air as a matter of social justice, she spoke about the deeply concerning impact of air pollution on children’s health, particularly the rising rates of asthma and stressed that no child should be disadvantaged simply because of the air they breathe.

The keynote speaker, Professor Sir Michael Marmot, provided compelling insight grounded in decades of research on health inequalities. He stressed that exposure to air pollution is deeply unequal, often hitting the most deprived communities the hardest. Professor Marmot urged the sector to view air pollution through the wider lens of social determinants of health, linking poor air quality to respiratory illness, dementia, mental ill health in children, and even life expectancy disparities. One of his most resonant messages was a reminder that policies to reduce emissions must be evidence-based, equitable, and transparent about their impact.

From a policy perspective, there was also much to take away from Emma Hardy, the Minister for Air Quality at DEFRA, who reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to reducing both indoor and outdoor air pollution. She outlined a range of upcoming consultations and initiatives: from reforms to industrial permitting, to efforts aimed at reducing emissions from domestic burning and transport. Of particular interest to environmental health professionals was the mention of a forthcoming vulnerability indicator tool being developed by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which will help target interventions in the areas most at risk.

Several leading organisations also took part in the event, including the Ella Roberta Foundation, Friends of the Earth, Cancer Research UK, Green Alliance, and Asthma + Lung UK – all of whom brought valuable insights and advocacy perspectives to the table.

The event underscored a growing consensus. Air pollution is not just an environmental concern, but a major public health emergency. And as Professor Marmot noted, “tackling this issue is not about making sacrifices, but about creating environments where people can live healthier, longer lives. Clean air should not be a privilege; it is a basic right.”

For CIEH members and the broader environmental health community, the discussion served as both a reminder and an opportunity. It’s clear that environmental health expertise is critical in turning evidence into action, supporting local authorities, and ensuring clean air policies are designed and implemented with equity, health, and long-term impact in mind.

You can view the report here: https://www.healthyair.org.uk/healthy-air-coalition-launches-new-report/