Local authorities in England have been allocated £11.6 million in government funding to help improve air quality.
The funds were distributed from the government’s Air Quality Grant and will go into measures and projects to improve air quality for communities, schools and local businesses.
Ministers have made double the amount of funding available that was allocated in 2021 for this year’s Air Quality Grant to help support a range of innovative projects to improve air quality.
The government is also taking steps to reduce air pollution under legislation known as the Environment Act, which requires two new targets to be set to reduce the level of fine particulate matter in the air. A public consultation on these aims will be held in the near future.
The government’s latest investment announced this week means that over £42 million have been allocated through the Air Quality Grant since 2010, spanning almost 500 different clean air projects.
Jo Churchill, agri-innovation and climate adaptation minister commented: “Air pollution is the single biggest environmental risk to public health. It has reduced significantly since 2010, but we know there is more to do, which is why we have doubled the amount of funding awarded this year to help local authorities take vital action.
“The projects supported by this latest round of funding include innovative local schemes to boost the use of green transport, increase monitoring of fine particulate matter – the most harmful pollutant to human health – and improve awareness of the risks of poor air quality around schools and in care homes.
“Local authorities are best placed to find solutions to the issues they face in their areas, and we will continue to work closely with them and offer support to help deliver real change in cleaning up our air.”
Projects that have secured funding through the latest grant encourage more people to use green transport such as e-bikes thanks to improvement in cycling infrastructure, improve educational programmes on the environment for schools and introduce air quality measures in and around care home settings.
These projects contribute toward the objectives of the 2019 Clean Air Strategy set out by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs [DEFRA], with the World Health Organisation hailed as “an example for the rest of the world”.
The projects facilitate the drive toward the strategy by helping reduce nitrogen dioxide concentration near roads and boost the uptake of greener vehicles, as well as encouraging more people to use clean public transport, cycle and/or walk.
Transport minister, Trudy Harrison, commented: “Active travel and the switch to zero emission transport plays a huge role in improving air quality and we’re committed to creating cleaner, faster and more efficient ways of getting from A to B.
“As we accelerate towards our net zero targets, funding announced today will help make our lives healthier by reducing our carbon footprint and supporting economic growth right across the country.”
Government environment projects have contributed to major improvements in UK air quality, with an 18 per cent fall in emissions of fine particulate matter having manifested since 2010. Over the same period, nitrogen oxide emissions and sulphur dioxide emissions have fallen by 44 per cent and 70 per cent, respectively.
Further information can be found here, along with a list of all local authorities to benefit from the latest Air Quality Grant.
Photo by Simon Wilkes on Unsplash
