Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the improvement in
air quality, emissions and other environmental indicators since
the COVID-19 restrictions were introduced.
The Question was considered in a Virtual Proceeding via video
call.
The Minister of State, Department for the Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for
International Development () (Con)
My Lords, nitrogen dioxide pollution at the roadside has almost
halved during the lockdown period as a result of reduced
emissions from traffic, with much smaller reductions observed for
particulate matters in urban areas. Emissions of greenhouse gases
and air pollutants from energy use and transport are likely to be
much lower than in normal times, on account of reduced energy
demand and much lower road traffic estimates.
(Lab)
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that, and of course
these are positive benefits to the environment. Does the Minister
agree that as we move into economic recovery from the pandemic we
cannot go back to business as usual? Does he agree that we must
seek to benefit from the gains to the environment, in particular
with regards to air pollution and climate change, and that we
should not support industries unless they make a commitment to
meet the higher standards in respect of the environment? What is
the Government’s policy as we move forward?
While the world is rightly focused on tackling the immediate
threat of coronavirus, the global challenges of climate change
and biodiversity loss, which in many respects overshadow and
dwarf the threat of coronavirus, have not gone away. As we
rebuild our economy in response to the pandemic and make
decisions about reconstruction, it is vital that we make
decisions which provide long-term resilience and sustainability,
and that we avoid decisions that will end up imposing big costs
on future generations.
The Government are absolutely committed to being world leaders in
tackling the environmental crisis we face. We are going to
continue our ambitious legislative agenda through our landmark
Environment Bill, Fisheries Bill and Agriculture Bill, all of
which combined will help us deliver on our 25-year environmental
plan. The noble Lord will have heard remarks and commitments by
the Secretary of State for Transport just a couple of days ago,
in which he announced a record level of funding for active
travel—alternatives to car use and even public transport use.
The Lord Speaker ()
As short as possible, please.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, given the Minister’s interest in Heathrow, does he
agree that the aviation sector has contributed more than 26% to
greenhouse gas emissions in the last five years? Yet Heathrow is
going ahead with an appeal to the Supreme Court for its third
runway. Does he accept that this highly polluting business model
is now defunct, and can he tell us what the Government’s position
is on that Supreme Court appeal?
The aviation sector has taken a pounding, not surprisingly, as a
consequence of the coronavirus and travel bans around the world.
It is not clear to anyone yet what the sector will look like as
it emerges.
In relation to Heathrow expansion specifically, the test has
always been that it would need to be reconciled with air quality
targets that this country must abide by. Given that this
Government are introducing an Environment Bill which includes a
duty on the Secretary of State to set very high standards in
relation to our air quality, that hurdle—in my view and in the
Government’s view—is extremely high.
(Con)
What measures does my noble friend envisage can be introduced now
so that we do not return to the bad old days of high levels of
pollution of the air we breathe?
This is a huge question and one not just for the Department for
the Environment but across the whole of government. We have to
ensure that in many respects we are able bank some of the
improvements that we have seen in air pollution. To support the
expansion of alternatives to public transport, particularly for
the 40% or so of commuters whose journey is less than three
miles, we have announced a wide package of measures, including £2
billion for cycling and walking, accelerated work on the
introduction of e-scooters—which is very good news—and the
deployment of tech expertise to help people avoid congested
travel routes. We will provide £2 billion of funding for active
travel, which I believe is the largest-ever commitment by any
Government to help transform the manner in which we travel.
(CB)
My Lords, these improvements in air quality have come at a
terrible cost. Does the Minister agree that, post-Covid, it is
possible both to embed environmental gains and to provide the
essential economic stimulus the country will need through the
sorts of measures that he has just been talking about—such as
investment in sustainable infrastructure, in transport and in
training for the green economy—so that we really do build back
better?
It is essential that decisions we make today have at their heart
a commitment to long-term sustainability and resilience, both in
our domestic actions and in our global outreach—through, for
example, the Department for International Development. That
thread should run through all government decisions in all
departments. That is why we are so pleased to hear the
commitments by the Department for Transport, the Secretary of
State for BEIS—who is also the president of COP—and other
departments of government. There is no doubt in my mind that this
Government recognise that out of the ashes of this appalling
disaster we have an opportunity to make decisions which will pass
the test of the time. The Prime Minister himself—[inaudible.]
(Lab)
My Lords, better air quality is the only benefit of this
lockdown. Figures for the spread of the disease and deaths from
it here and in other countries indicate that the areas most hit
are those which are highly polluted or have heavy congestion.
Will the Government consider producing guidance, requests and
eventually powers to get local authorities to introduce
congestion charging, parking restrictions and pure banning of bad
vehicles from such areas in future? Most of the powers for local
authorities exist in the 1999 Act, but they require reinforcing.
Will such reinforcement be in the forthcoming Environment Bill? I
declare an interest as the honorary president of Environmental
Protection UK.
The actions the Government are already taking are entirely
consistent with the need to tackle air pollution, which is the
most serious environmental health threat to humans. The clean air
strategy which we published in January last year was praised by
the World Health Organization as an example for the rest of the
world to follow. One of its key commitments was that the
Government would produce primary legislation on air quality. That
request has been answered in the Environment Bill, which includes
measures to improve air quality at its heart. It is the first
Environment Bill for 20 years. It commits us to setting very
ambitious targets for fine particulate matter, which is the
pollutant of most concern to human health; it will give local
authorities a clear framework and simple-to-use powers to address
air quality in their areas; and it provides government with new
powers to enforce environmental standards for vehicles. Of
course, the Environment Bill goes far beyond issues such as air
pollution. At its heart is a commitment that we should leave the
environment in a significantly better shape than when we
inherited it.
(LD)
My Lords, as other speakers have said, we have seen that people
who suffer from asthma and other respiratory conditions are
having a holiday from their symptoms as a result of there being
fewer cars and less traffic on the road and fewer planes in the
air. The Minister said that he wants to the UK to be a world
leader. It should be. It must be on climate change, and tackling
climate change has to take precedence over economic recovery. Can
the Minister assure us that he will press the Government to
follow this route?
That is a commitment that not only am I happy to make but that
the Government as a whole can make. We do not believe that there
is a choice between economic recovery and tackling climate
change. Indeed, if we are to resolve the issue of climate change
and broader environmental damage, it will be because we have
reconciled economic growth with the reality that we live in a
finite world where our impacts on the planet have direct
implications for future generations. In my view, the choice
between economic recovery and environmental action is a false
one.
(Con)
My Lords, while it is welcome to see more electric buses
replacing diesel buses in London and other big cities, can my
noble friend explain what sustainable source of energy will drive
these buses and all the electric cars that are envisaged for the
future?
The Statement made by the Department for Transport a few days ago
included increased investment in charging networks throughout our
cities, which has direct implications for private car use.
Equally, we are ramping up investment in transforming our buses
from being in many cases very highly polluting to being as close
to zero-emission as possible. On the whole, the dominant thrust
in technologies is in the direction of electric travel, but it
will be for the market to determine ultimately what is the best
value for money in delivering clean transport for the future.
The Lord Speaker
My Lords, as we have made comparatively little progress on this
Question, I will allow a couple more minutes.
(CB)
My Lords, an area that tends to get overlooked is air quality in
the domestic environment, and of course home is where we have
been spending most of our time in recent weeks. In January, NICE
published guidelines including recommendations for research. What
steps are the Government taking to encourage research in this
area and increase public awareness of air quality in our own
homes?
We have done a great deal of real-time monitoring in recent
months, particularly during this coronavirus period. We have
determined that road traffic has reduced by more than half since
lockdown started, public transport use is at less than 20% of
usual levels, electricity demand is down 18% since lockdown
began, and so on. Unfortunately, data on domestic emissions—air
quality within the home—is much harder to come by. We continue to
process the data we are gathering, but I cannot give a clearer
answer at this stage.
(Lab)
Given the preliminary evidence of a link between polluting air
and higher death rates from Covid-19, can the Minister explain
the decision of the Joint Air Quality Unit to delay the rollout
of clean air zones across the country at the very time, as
colleagues have said, when action on dirty air is most needed?
The request to delay the clean air zones came directly from Leeds
and Birmingham. It follows the reality that has I think affected
every local authority and department of government: numerous
personnel have been sidetracked by their need to address this
immediate crisis. The Government responded to that request
positively, but it does not in any way diminish our recognition
that clean air zones are an essential, necessary part of our
efforts to bring us in line with the air quality targets we have
set ourselves.
