The unequal burden of the toxic air we breathe
Plus: As Reform surge, what do Labour need to do + introducing The Lead untangles + an exclusive shared ownership deep-dive (£) & latest from the North of England
Air pollution is not just a climate issue, it is an urgent crisis of public health and racial injustice.
Most people in the UK breathe levels of pollution that are associated with significant health risks every single day. But the air we breathe is not equal, and Black and ethnic minority communities, as well as poorer communities, are disproportionately impacted by toxic emissions.
Ethnic minority populations – more likely to live in built-up cities or near major roads – were exposed to levels of air pollution 6% higher than average levels for white populations in 2023, according to research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. This figure has dropped over the last decade, but the disparity remains stark. Additionally, the poorest areas in England experience the highest levels of emissions, and it is minority communities who are most likely to be living in poverty.
The impacts of this deep-rooted inequality are life-threatening. 54 children died of asthma between 2019-2023. Of those deaths, 90 per cent were exposed to air pollution levels above World Health Organisation guidelines. Toxic air is not just a climate issue, it is an urgent public health crisis and an issue of social and racial injustice.
“No one should be dying of asthma in 2025. It is an absolute disgrace,” says campaigner Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, speaking at a packed-out discussion on toxic air and inequality at the Houses of Parliament this week [February 4th].
It is almost 12 years since Adoo-Kissi-Debrah’s nine-year-old daughter Ella died after suffering a cardiac arrest triggered by severe asthma. The little girl remains the only person in the world to have air pollution listed as a cause on her death certificate.
“Ella wouldn’t have developed asthma or died on that fatal night if it weren’t for the illegal levels of air pollution in Lewisham,” Adoo-Kissi-Debrah told The Lead last year.
Now, she is campaigning to enshrine regulations to improve the air we breathe into UK law. Ella’s Law would create a plan to bring air quality in line with WHO’s acceptable levels, and reduce the number of children breathing in fumes from traffic, chimneys, construction, mould and other sources.
“These inequalities are baked into our systems,” Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, told the committee. “It’s an injustice we need to address most urgently.”
Ribeiro-Addy and her fellow Labour politicians need to start with the cars. ULEZ had an immediate and significant impact on the air quality in London. A report from City Hall said the change in just six months was equivalent to removing 200,000 cars from the road for one year.
Siân Berry, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavillion, warned the committee that the car industry is “fighting to resist change and fighting against the cultural shifts that are needed.”
“We need to set really high standards for these companies,” she added. “Never forget what the tobacco industry did, because we will face all of the same tactics.”
In Manchester, after scrapping plans for a low-emissions zone, the city is instead set to receive 117 new lower and zero-emission buses in a £86 million scheme, in a decision confirmed by the Government in January. The new plan rules out a Clean Air Zone [CAZ] in Manchester so motorists will not be charged to drive into the area. Defra and the Department for Transport have concluded that the new buses and traffic-calming measures will meet legal obligations to reduce nitrogen dioxide pollution.
Mayor Andy Burnham backed the move, calling it the “right decision for Greater Manchester”, but the city is in dire need of a strategy that will deliver significant improvement – quickly. Manchester has the highest proportion of children being hospitalised for asthma in the country, with 3,810 admitted in 2022/23. While his London counterpart Sadiq Khan weathered the ULEZ backlash storm and was rewarded with immediate results, Burnham’s climbdown on CAZ will be felt on the streets of Manchester – roads in all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs continue to break legal limits for air quality.
Campaigners agree that the work towards improving air quality nationwide must be holistic. What works for one region may not work for another. Some low-traffic neighbourhoods, for example, have been found to redirect heavy traffic to more deprived areas – widening the disparity in exposure to harmful pollutants. While the push towards electric vehicles has many benefits, you can’t ignore the environmental effects associated with manufacture, or the argument that electric cars emit more nanoparticle matter pollution from their brakes and tyres than petrol and diesel cars. Pushing these measures without also incentivising public transport use by making it more affordable will only limit progress.
Beyond campaigning for legislation, Adoo-Kissi-Debrah is also calling on the young to get involved, to make their voices heard.
“We need you,” she told a group of Gen Z attendees sitting in the front row. “Use your voices, email your MPs.”
She is right, of course, that the enthusiasm and support of younger generations is needed – but it’s those in power who need to take action now. It is the youngest members of society who are worst affected by poisonous, polluted air – their fragile, developing lungs will carry the damage caused by breathing toxic emissions throughout their lives. We cannot allow those most impacted by the problem – and least culpable – to shoulder the burden of enacting change.
About the author: Natalie Morris is National Editor of The Lead (currently on mat leave) and is a freelance journalist and author with a focus on social justice, health inequality, racial inequality and culture. She is the author of Mixed/Other and co-author of Believe with Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock. Her work has featured in the Guardian, Independent, iPaper, Cosmopolitan, Grazia, BBC, ITV's Tonight Programme and others.
Editor’s note: After nine-months of maternity leave, Natalie is set to return to The Lead in March as National Editor. Working closely with Westminster Editor Zoe Grunewald, fellow National and Lead North editors Ed Walker and Luke Beardsworth along with the talented team of journalists and freelance contributors we have in the North and beyond. Natalie can't wait to dive back into the conversation, with more nuanced coverage on racial inequality, health disparities, climate, housing and a smattering of culture. We’re delighted to see her back very soon! You can reach her on natalie@thelead.uk
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Ed, Zoe, Luke, Sophie, Natalie and The Lead team