City Talks: Resolving the air pollution crisis in our cities

In this month’s episode, Andrew explores the topic of air pollution with Caroline Russell, Green Party member of the London Assembly, and Andrea Lee from Client Earth, a group of activist environmental lawyers which is currently challenging the Government’s air quality plans in court.

With fatal levels of air pollution responsible for an estimated 40,000 deaths a year in the UK each year, Andrew and his guests consider how our air became so toxic. They examine the effect of tax breaks for diesel vehicles, motor companies cheating emissions tests and the impact of tech giants such as Amazon and Uber on our roads. They also discuss what cities can do to address air pollution, including London’s plan for an Ultra Low Emission Zone to be introduced in 2019. Finally, our guests talk about the role that the new metro mayors can play in raising awareness of air quality and fighting for clean air in their cities.

Before that, Andrew catches up with Centre for Cities’ Naomi Clayton and Brian Semple to discuss the latest policy developments, including the Taylor Review’s implications for different cities, the future of business rates devolution and what we learnt from Greg Clark’s recent speech on industrial strategy.

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