Action taken by local authorities in England on air pollution has helped save almost 14,000 lives, according to a new analysis.
The report by the UK100 group of councils and supported by the Clean Air Fund, claims local and regional work around tacking air pollution between 2019 and 2025 has prevented an estimated 13,722 deaths.
The study also claims this work has avoided around £15 billion in damage to health and the wider economy.
And it argues almost 4,000 more lives and £2.4 billion could have been saved over the same period, by empowering local authorities to make fuller use of existing powers.
The research finds local action currently accounts for around 35% of England’s air quality improvement work, while the rest driven by national action.
It says if new and existing strategic and regional authorities were empowered and resourced to make fuller use of the powers they already hold, over transport, planning, buses, housing and public health, that figure could rise to 45%.
The report draws on case studies including Greater Manchester, Oxford and London.
New analysis published last month estimates deaths linked to air pollution in London have fallen by around 40% over the five years from 2019, with roadside nitrogen dioxide down 41% and fine particulate pollution down 28%.
Transport for London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which now coverrs all London boroughs, has kept roadside nitrogen dioxide around 27% lower than it would otherwise have been.
The report proposes a regional clean air leadership model to help local authorities embed clean air across transport, planning, housing and public health, and ensure mayors are ready to use new powers from the moment they arrive.
The report calls on the national U.K government to introduce a new Clean Air Act with World Health Organization-aligned statutory targets.
It also calls for a long-term, consolidated clean air funding settlement that reflects the full monetised value of local action and lets authorities plan sustained delivery.
The report also recommends a national indoor air quality strategy, clarifying responsibility across housing, transport and planning for the air people breathe inside their homes, schools and workplaces.
UK100 chief executive Christopher Hammond said the story of air pollution has often been told through the harm it does, in a statement.
But Hammond said this new research shows the “other side of the ledger” and how local leaders have helped prevent almost 14,000 unnecessary and untimely deaths and created better places to live in.
“These interventions haven’t always been welcomed initially, but with time have become accepted and loved by communities,” said Hammond.
“The difference made by those leaders, both past and present, is a record to be proud of,” he added.
“But with the rollout of devolution and local government reorganisation, the local-national coordination will be critical to keeping up the momentum and improving the lives of thousands more in towns and cities across England.”
The deputy mayor of London for environment and energy, Mete Coban said the example of London shows what is possible when a major city decides to clean up its air, in a statement.
Coban added the world’s largest clean air zone of its kind, cleaner buses and bold borough-level action have together cut nitrogen dioxide far faster than the experts predicted.
But he added none of this happened by accident and it took political will and a refusal to accept dirty air as an inevitability.
“As we mark a decade of progress, my message to other leaders is simple: ambition works, and the next decade must be bolder still. This is how we are building a better and greener London for everyone,” said the deputy mayor.
