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Comment and Environment

Concern about dirty air can galvanise the fight against climate change

Politicians think that climate policy is a vote loser because people see it as a "tomorrow" issue. But immediate worries about the air we breathe offer a way to shift the dial, says London's mayor Sadiq Khan

By Sadiq Khan

14 June 2023

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Simone Rotella

ALL human life is powered by breath. But not all of us breathe the same air.

According to the World Health Organization, air pollution is a public health emergency – 99 per cent of the global population breathe toxic air. The 9 million early deaths from air pollution-related diseases worldwide each year are on a par with the number caused by tobacco smoking.

And yet tainted air’s effects aren’t evenly spread. The harm caused by it is concentrated among the most disadvantaged people in society. More than 90 per cent of air pollution-related deaths occur in low and middle-income countries. …

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