Clean Air in London

CAL calls for investigations into government’s failure to address wood burning

Simon Birkett — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 19:13:37 +0000

Response to Defra consultation on Solid Fuel Burning Clean Air in London urges the Prime Minister and the Environmental Audit Committee to investigate the government’s failure to fully address wood and other solid fuel burning which bears striking similarities with past public health failures, including the infected blood scandal. Dear Emma Reynolds I am writing ... Read more

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CAL calls on Mayor to comply with WHO’s ‘interim target’ for NO2 of 20 ug/m3 by 2030

Simon Birkett — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 11:38:43 +0000

Full compliance with WHO’s ‘interim target’ for NO2 of 20 ug/m3 by 1 January 2030 Dear Sir Sadiq I am writing on behalf of Clean Air in London (CAL) to you as Mayor of London. You are also Co-Chair of C40 Cities which is due to hold the World Summit of Mayors in Brazil 3-5 November 2025[1]. It is ... Read more

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CAL calls for OEP to be scrapped (or given more duties) and Emma Reynolds MP to comply urgently with NO2 limit values

Simon Birkett — Sun, 07 Sep 2025 14:43:42 +0000

Clean Air in London (“CAL”) has been fighting for clean air since 2006. The legal, political and public health battle to reduce nitrogen dioxide (“NO2”), a toxic gas, and other pollutants is far from over. Parliamentary Questions from Tim Farron MP (Liberal Democrat) have revealed that 16 cities and towns breached the NO2annual legal limit in ... Read more

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‘Toxic Town’ by Netflix: One of the best series!

Simon Birkett — Sat, 01 Mar 2025 17:53:39 +0000

In a landmark case in 2009 the High Court ruled that toxic air, unwittingly inhaled by the residents of Corby during the years spent reclaiming the land polluted by the closed steel works, had caused birth defects. (Corby Group Litigation v. Corby District Council [2009] EWHC 1944 (TCC)) Toxic Town tells the moving story of the ... Read more

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‘CAL’ calls for investigation into Government’s failure to publish a ‘Pollution Alert’

Simon Birkett — Sun, 30 Jun 2024 15:30:31 +0000

‘Clean Air in London’ is calling for an investigation into the Government’s failure to publish a ‘Pollution Alert’ warning the public about HIGH ozone air pollution in southern England on Wednesday 26 June 2024 in the hours immediately before the final Leaders’ debate [in Nottingham] before the General Election. The Secretary of State (for Environment, ... Read more

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London must be ‘diesel-free’ by 2030

Simon Birkett — Fri, 03 May 2024 09:02:52 +0000

London must be ‘diesel-free’ to comply with new WHO air quality guidelines. Average concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (“NO2”), a toxic gas, monitored in Outer London were significantly lower in the first six months after ULEZ expansion than in the comparable period in 2022-2023. ‘Clean Air in London’ has published its NO2 analysis and ‘Clean Air Scorecard’ of ... Read more

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‘Clean Air Scorecard’ 2024

Simon Birkett — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 11:48:46 +0000

‘Clean Air’ Scorecard 2024 Clean Air in London’s (“CAL’s”) final scorecard for the Mayoral and London Assembly elections on 2 May 2024 has been published here: CAL-529-Ranking-of-Mayoral-manifestos-2024_Version-1.0_020324 CAL has previously scored the manifestos of the leading candidates for Mayor of London in a Clean Air Scorecard for the elections in 2012, 2016 and 2021. This ... Read more

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ULEZ expansion is an important step on the path to phasing out diesel in London

Simon Birkett — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 07:00:00 +0000

ULEZ expansion is an important step on the path to phasing out diesel in London ULEZ expansion targets the final group of diesel vehicles in the last part of London to achieve the Euro 6 emission standard and the comparable Euro 4 emission standard for petrol Eight previous phases of Low Emission Zones, the T-Charge ... Read more

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Great Smog’s 70th anniversary – Take action!

Simon Birkett — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 16:54:00 +0000

Great Smog’s 70th anniversary – Take action! 70 years ago, people were worried about respiratory effects from short term exposure to visible particles from solid fuel burning. On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Great Smog (5-9 December 1952), Clean Air in London (CAL) has therefore looked back at the Meteorology Office’s (“Met ... Read more

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Clean Air in London exposes cosy world of the wood stove industry

Simon Birkett — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 21:57:00 +0000

CAL wrote to Defra on 11 August 2021 to raise serious concerns and ask 17 questions about the cosy world of the wood stove industry and its regulators and Defra’s failure to set dates to end the installation and use of wood burning stoves in urban areas. In response, Defra has failed to answer many ... Read more

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Implementation of Ecodesign Regulations from 1 January 2022 is an important step on the path to banning wood burning

Simon Birkett — Wed, 29 Dec 2021 17:58:00 +0000

Only ecodesign-compliant wood burning stoves will be able to enter the UK market from 1 January 2022 Clean Air in London (CAL) has discovered weak historic emission standards, confusion and duplication between the new Ecodesign Regulations and the Clean Air Act 1993, serious unresolved problems with the new emission testing regime and a failure by ... Read more

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Ban wood burning in urban areas

Simon Birkett — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 19:25:00 +0000

Clean Air in London (CAL) calls for wood burning ban in urban areas CAL has identified 12 facts or principles about wood burning, climate change and air quality after seven months of constructive correspondence with the Climate Change Committee (CCC) The CCC has confirmed its advice “that Government should not support wood-burning stoves as part ... Read more

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