Breathe: Seven Ways to Win a Greener World

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The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan will today attend the unveiling of the final phase of artist Dryden Goodwin’s Breathe:2022 project, part of Lewisham’s year as the London Borough of Culture 2022. The Mayor created and funded the London Borough of Culture programme to improve access to culture, bring communities together and provide young Londoners with positive opportunities, with Lewisham the third borough to be awarded the title. Kevin Fenton, London Regional Director of Public Health, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), said: “Air pollution in London is the largest environmental health risk we are facing as a city, and one that affects the most vulnerable Londoners - including children - the most. Bold action is needed from all of us. Expanding the ULEZ will have significant health benefits for the city and prevent over 500,000 Londoners developing air pollution related diseases over 30 years.”

World-leading measures, including the central London ULEZ, introduced by the Mayor in his first term had already cut the number of state schools located in areas with illegal levels of pollution by 97 per cent – from 455 schools in 2016 to just 14 in 2019. Editorial director Rowan Borchers said Breathe would be “both an intriguing inside account of life in City Hall, and a warm and practical guide to green politics”. At the book launch for Breathe, a man stood up and shouted that it was “a lie” that Ella died from air pollution. Her mother Rosamund was among the audience. The rest of the chapters adhere to their topics a little bit more faithfully, but are all told through the narrow lens of Khan’s own experience in office. The result is a book that is neither a cerebral exploration of the barriers to climate action in politics, nor a proper political memoir. Ella Kissi-Debrah was seven years old when she was diagnosed with asthma. She lived just 25 metres from the congested South Circular Road in Lewisham, South East London.New services and improvements, that will see over one million further kilometres added to the bus network, are also planned to support growth areas in a number of other outer London location. This is part of the biggest ever expansion of the bus network in outer London. Examples include: So join us as we explore the big ideas changing the way we think, act and live – and how much impact we can really have as individuals.

Toxic air pollution is a matter of life and death – with around 4,000 Londoners dying prematurely each year, children growing up with stunted lungs and a higher risk of dementia in older people. More than 500,000 Londoners live with asthma and are more vulnerable to the impacts of toxic air, with more than half of these people living in outer London boroughs. The new grace periods will be available from 30 January 2023 and also apply to the existing zone. The grace periods will apply until October 2027. The ULEZ so far has been transformational, reducing harmful pollution levels by almost a half in central London. But there is still far too much toxic air pollution permanently damaging the health of young Londoners and leading to thousands of early deaths every year, with the greatest number of deaths in the outer London boroughs. Expanding the ULEZ London-wide will mean five million more people will be able to breathe cleaner air and live healthier lives. Do you think parenthood has made you more engaged in your activism, raising two children in London with air pollution being what it is? The Ella Roberta Family Foundation was set up by Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, and is dedicated to her daughter, who died age nine from asthma linked to air pollution. Ella is the only person in the world to have air pollution listed on her death certificate. Rosamund set up the Foundation in 2014 to raise awareness across the community of the devastating effects of air pollution and to inspire action at local and national level.For many years, Sadiq wasn't fully aware of the dangers posed by air pollution, nor its connection with climate change. Then, aged 43, he was unexpectedly diagnosed with adult-onset asthma - brought on by the polluted London air he had been breathing for decades. Dr Chinedu Nwokoro, Consultant Respiratory Paediatrician at The Royal London Hospital, part of Barts Health NHS Trust said: “ As a respiratory doctor with a research interest in lung disease and air pollution, I am acutely aware of the impact of air pollution on child health. Children exposed to high air pollution experience restricted lung growth, increased asthma and respiratory infections, and other health effects that can begin in the womb and last through to old age. I talk to my patients about the importance of acting on air pollution and about easy steps they can take to protect themselves, and I try to model these behaviours for my own children; all of us owe it to children to act now to rescue their futures. By working together we can reduce the health impact of air pollution and create a healthy environment for our communities, now and in the future.” The Breathe London Network, managed by Imperial College London and funded by the Mayor and Bloomberg Philanthropies and the boroughs, is an important part of Sadiq’s work to raise awareness of air pollution, making it easier for all Londoners to access reliable, localised, real-time air quality data. The additional sensors will bring the capital’s total to 322 sensors. Mark Hayden, Consultant Intensivist at Great Ormond Street Hospital, said: “We see first-hand the impact poor air quality has on our patients who face challenges such as asthma, cardiovascular disease, cystic fibrosis, stroke, premature birth, and other lung conditions. Eligible people (or their nominated driver) will need to register with TfL to receive this discount. The grace periods are available to all eligible people regardless of whether they live in London.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The focus of this Clean Air Day is on protecting children’s health – and we know toxic air pollution in London stunts the growth of children’s lungs and worsens chronic illnesses such as asthma. Because it's invisible. If you and I were sitting here in the 1950s, we would see the smog outside the window and we'd talk about it and what's causing it. But with air pollution today, you can't see it and you can't smell it. And that is the reason why with Rosamund’s permission I talk about Ella, because it humanises it.We all know someone who has asthma, if we don’t ourselves- you and I both have asthma. And my point is that if we had this same conversation 20 years ago that wouldn't be the case. So something has caused that, and what's caused that is the same thing causing climate change, which is air pollution. So we have got to talk about it, and I'm hoping to get the message and sense of urgency across by me telling my story.

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Apart from the time we were discussing music at the start, Khan has hardly smiled in almost two hours. He’s been too busy laying out achievements, obstacles and challenges ahead. I feel as if I’ve gone 12 rounds with the Human Encyclopedia of City Hall. But for all the talk of six terms, I think he’s worried about the next election. And for all the braggadocio there is a vulnerability – partly a fear of letting London down by losing, partly a fear of personal failure. Khan is that rare thing: a politician with a mission and vision for the community he serves. For me, Ella humanised why the environment matters. Her short life forced people to face up to the invisible killer we all breathe every day. Ella shows that the climate emergency is a health crisis, too, and that we cannot wait to take action to clean up our air. Khan may now be as closely associated with London as previous Labour mayor Ken Livingstone. And, like Livingstone, you sense he’s aware of every pothole and dodgy traffic light. But the city has changed hugely since Livingstone’s time. Although its overall population is rising, the number of people aged 25-39, and most likely to start families, is falling because of housing costs. Most young people simply can’t afford to live in London any more. Inevitably, this will lead to a city famous for its diversity becoming the preserve of a moneyed elite. Mayor Khan introduced the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone, which has helped cut toxic roadside nitrogen dioxide pollution by nearly half in central London at the same time as helping to reduce carbon emissions. The Mayor has also: planted 350,000 trees since 2016; introduced over 500 electric buses; committed to making London a net zero carbon city by 2030, faster than any comparable city; and developed a climate action plan that is compatible with the highest ambition of the Paris Agreement. Some Outer London councils are banding together to challenge the policy in the high court, while outriders seek to discredit independent data evidencing the success of the existing Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), all welcomed by the burgeoning ecosystem of right-wing outlets like GB News.

Oliver Lord, UK Head of the Clean Cities Campaign said: "This is a welcome next step in our fight for clean air in London and especially for people living on the most polluted roads. Anyone doubting this decision should take a long walk along the north and south circular and reason with the families living there why they don't deserve cleaner air.

Each of the seven main chapters explores a barrier to action: apathy, cynicism, cost, and so on. But having set up this structure, Khan immediately abandons it, promising an opening chapter on fatalism in politics but instead giving a linear account of his career, leading up to his election as mayor of London in 2016. Khan ought to have been well placed to notice this. The 2021 London mayoral election marked a turning point of sorts for public discourse, with far-right figures and conspiracy theorists clogging up the ballot paper and lurking outside City Hall on election night.