CLEAN AIR STRATEGY CONSULTATION

Overview

Birmingham City Council believes that every person who lives and works in Birmingham has the right to clean air and that visitors to our city should also benefit from this clean air. But poor air quality in the city is contributing to hundreds of early, preventable deaths and making many existing health conditions worse. Poor air quality disproportionately affects the poorest and most vulnerable in our communities, including children. Furthermore, we have to recognise that many air pollutants have no known safe limits and although our efforts to date have rightly focused on the city centre we must ensure that all neighbourhoods of our city benefit from future interventions to improve air quality.

As well as tackling the health impacts from poor air quality we need to consider how improving air quality can be linked into economic growth for both the city and the wider region. This ‘clean growth’ means growing our income whilst tackling air pollution, protecting the natural environment, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions, thereby future-proofing our city as we look ahead to the middle of the century.

The Council’s proposed Clean Air Strategy for the City of Birmingham sets out a series of high level pledges as to how it and others in the city can support this journey towards cleaner air.  Inevitably, there are aspects that the Council will need to lead on and there are some areas where it will need to support communities and businesses to make healthy and active choices.  The Council will also need to provide clear and consistent messages as well as raising awareness of the impact of poor air quality, making it clear why action is needed.  It is important to remember that improving air quality is a shared responsibility, so the Council will work in partnership with organisations and institutions throughout Birmingham and across the region.