Adapting to threats: initial responses of grassroots clean air advocacy groups to COVID-19

Abstract

In the UK, the management of air quality presents a complex socio-political problem. Low-income communities disproportionately experience higher exposure to air pollution; in London, almost half of the most deprived neighbourhoods experience NO 2 levels which exceed EU limits, compared with only 2% of the capital's richest (European Environmental Agency 2018). Adequate solutions must engage with these socio-political problems to meaningfully address structural inequalities of pollution. Whilst the Mayor of London has enforced stricter regulations to improve air quality, which have been extended in response to the pandemic to include car-free zones in central London, definitive action at the local level has stumbled. In response, grassroots clean air advocacy groups have emerged to hold local authorities accountable and ensure that air pollution remains on political agendas. However, progress is varied as local politics continues to complicate the effective management of air quality.COVID-19 has drawn attention to two prominent components of urban air pollution, which have both been central to multiple clean air campaigns. Firstly, social distancing rules highlight the complex relationship between traffic and urban air pollution. From 16 March 2020 to 20 April 2020, the Greater London Authority reported a 50% reduction in traffic across London, and a 26% reduction in hourly average nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) concentrations across central London (GLA, 2020). In London, 50% of NO 2 is emitted from vehicle exhausts, and long-term exposure contributes to an individual's susceptibility to severe respiratory diseases. Although NO 2 levels have fallen across the capital, in the same time period, other pollutants such as ozone (O 3 ) and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ) have increased compared to hourly average concentrations from 1 January to

Environmental Rule of Law: Tracking Progress and Charting Future Directions

“…These solutions are not a panacea. In particular, some British grassroots organizations have stressed that utilizing digital spaces does not replace engaging in in-person opportunities such as council meetings (Hibbett 2020). Online commenters generally share short statements of approval or disapproval, rather than making deliberative contributions.…”