A Bill calling for Clean Air as a human right has attracted cross party support ahead of its Second Reading on Friday morning (10am, 8 July 2022) in the Lords. The legislation is being called Ella’s law in the hope that it will stop others suffering a similar fate to Ella Roberta Adoo Kissi-Debrah, who died of air pollution when 9 years old and was the first person to have air pollution put as an official cause of death.

As well as support from the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, who said he was “proud to join with Baroness Jenny Jones and Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah to support this Bill in Ella’s memory”; it has also received backing from:

·       Labour MP, Geraint Davies, who is Chair of APPG on Air Pollution.

·       Baroness Sal Brinton, the Lib Dem Health Spokesperson in the Lords

·       Lord Chris Holmes, Conservative peer and the UK’s most successful Paralympic swimmer

Green Party peer, Baroness Jenny Jones, said: “My Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill aims reduce all emissions, those that make people ill and those that are heating up our planet. Most of the solutions to the public health crisis caused by air pollution are the same solutions for the climate crisis. Solving one problem solves the other and that’s why it makes sense to act immediately by adopting the World Health Organisation’s latest guidelines.”

Lord Chris Holmes of Richmond MBE said: “I warmly welcome and support Baroness Jones’ Clean Air Bill and congratulate her on bringing it for debate on 8 July.  There could barely be a more basic right than that to be able to enjoy clean air and yet Millions, daily, are denied this. I hope the Government give serious consideration to the provisions set out in Baroness Jones’ Bill. It’s high time to pass this Bill, to enable people to breathe more easily, in short, to clear the air.”

Geraint Davies, MP & Chair of APPG on Air Pollution, said: “Better air quality protects people’s health, reduces costs and improves our environment. Politicians have a duty to protect the public from the silent killer which is air pollution and Ella’s law would protect the millions who suffer from poor health due to toxic air. Children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution, and we all have the right to clean air, so we urgently need a Clean Air Act now.”

Baroness Sal Brinton, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson in the House of Lords, said: “Despite the tragic death of Ella Roberta Adoo Kissi-Debrah in 2013, thousands of people continue to be hospitalised every year due to polluted air. This particularly affects those living with long term respiratory conditions such as asthma or COPD. Liberal Democrats want to see more action to cut pollution levels and clean up our air. That’s why we’re backing Ella’s law and this bill – to ensure that the air we breathe is safe.”

A clip of the Mayor speaking can be found here

The Lords Library has prepared a briefing and the explanatory notes can be found at https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/46928/documents/2008.  

More here: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3161