On 8 July 2022, the second reading of the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill [HL] is scheduled to take place. This bill seeks to improve air quality in England and Wales. It would establish a human right to clean air and would require the government to limit the concentration of pollutants in the air in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines and scientific evidence.
Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill [HL] (219 KB , PDF)
The Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill. It was introduced in the House of Lords by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party).
The bill seeks to improve air quality in England and Wales. It would establish a human right to clean air and would require the government to limit the concentration of pollutants in the air in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and scientific evidence. WHO guidelines for limits are, in most cases, more stringent than current UK limits.
The bill would also require the government to implement targets recommended by the Committee on Climate Change for limits on pollutants causing climate change.
The bill would place duties on some national authorities to exercise their functions so as to work towards clean air. The bill would also establish environmental principles the government and certain national authorities would have to follow when carrying out their duties under the bill and under other air quality legislation.
The UK currently has statutory limits for certain pollutants. These are generally less stringent than WHO guidelines. In recent years, these limits have been adhered to for all specified pollutants except nitrogen dioxide.
Poor air quality has significant health effects, including increased risk of asthma, cardiovascular diseases and death in the first year of life. Many of the negative health effects are particularly acute for young people, older people and those with pre-existing health conditions.
The Environment Act 2021 requires the government to set targets for air quality and for reducing concentrations of fine particulate matter. These targets must be set by 31 October 2022. A consultation on these targets is due to close on 27 June 2022.
Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill [HL] (219 KB , PDF)
Developing countries have been identified as some of those most at risk from the effects of climate change. This includes many of the member states of the Commonwealth. The UK government has made a series of commitments to provide support to developing countries in order to mitigate these risks, including through aid spending and international climate finance. The House of Lords is scheduled to debate these policies on 30 March 2023.
The Shark Fins Bill is a private member’s bill that would ban the import and export of detached shark fins and shark fin-containing products in Great Britain, with routes available for conservation-related exemptions. It would also extend an existing prohibition on shark finning in place for UK fishing vessels to all fishing vessels operating in UK waters. The House of Lords is scheduled to debate the bill on 24 March 2023.
Capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial processes to prevent it entering the atmosphere has been put forward as one approach to help the world reduce carbon emissions to net zero and mitigate against climate change. This article looks at carbon dioxide capture and storage in more detail.
