Breathe: Seven Ways to Win a Greener World

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There is also a notable omission from Khan’s chapter headings: good old-fashioned denial. Khan argues that the era of climate denial is over, and that the people who formerly tried to cast doubt on the science have now accepted the consensus and have moved on to delaying climate action. Ahead of a general election that is likely to take place before the end of 2024, Khan’s book reminds us that this approach didn’t work for Goldsmith at the ballot box. Ultimately, as its title promises, Breathe is a breath of fresh air, offering an antidote to cynicism and demonstrating the power of a politics that aims to bring people together in the search for solutions. So join us as we explore the big ideas changing the way we think, act and live – and how much impact we can really have as individuals. An additional 131 air quality sensors are to be installed at hospitals, schools and other priority locations in the capital, revolutionising Londoners’ access to reliable data about air pollution in their local area. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, will today mark Clean Air Day with a visit to the Royal London Hospital, one of ten hospitals with a sensor in place to monitor in real time the effects of toxic pollution, including high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) which aggravates respiratory diseases. I ask if he still runs. “I did 12k last weekend, 7k a few days ago. Another thing I didn’t realise until the pandemic is that it helped not just my physical fitness but also my mental fitness.” Then the seemingly invincible Khan says something surprising. He tells me he really suffered in the pandemic. “I lost my mojo. I didn’t have clarity of thinking. I wasn’t so sparky. I wasn’t inspiring my team.” Did he see a therapist? “No. I’ve got friends who are doctors. I spoke to Alastair Campbell about it a lot. Alastair was very helpful.”

Antha Williams, Global Head of Environment Programs at Bloomberg Philanthropies, said : "By expanding the city’s Ultra Low Emission Zone and supporting a joint investment with Bloomberg Philanthropies' for Breathe London, Mayor Khan is doubling down on his commitment to improving London’s air quality, fighting climate change and safeguarding public health. The Mayor's leadership to ensure clean air provides real examples for other cities to do the same.” The ULEZ expansion is not only vital to achieving compliance with legal limits for air pollution but is also a key step towards meeting the more stringent health-driven World Health Organization guidelines for toxic particulate pollution by 2030. The additional 131 air quality sensors, which are being installed in Sutton, Kingston, Merton and Richmond upon Thames, are being implemented as part of the South London Partnership’s InnOvaTe Project.* A study commissioned by City Hall found that in 2019 between 3,600 to 4,100 deaths in Greater London were estimated to have been attributable to air pollution. The highest number of deaths was in outer London boroughs, mainly due to the higher proportion of elderly people in these areas, the study found.Along with hospital staff, the Mayor will meet a group of year six pupils from the nearby Canon Barnett Primary School which also falls within the expanded ULEZ zone. Sir Ian Cheshire, Chair, We Mean Business Coalition; Chair, Channel 4; Chair, Spire Healthcare Group; Chair, Menhaden Capital, and non-executive director at BT, said: “I applaud the Mayor of London’s decision to expand his flagship air quality policy, the Ultra Low Emission Zone, which will mean five million more people breathing cleaner air. This is the kind of large-scale, decisive action we need to halve emissions this decade, and I have no doubt businesses in London and around the world will recognise the huge benefits that this policy will bring to communities and families across the capital." Each of the seven main chapters explores a barrier to action: apathy, cynicism, cost, and so on. But having set up this structure, Khan immediately abandons it, promising an opening chapter on fatalism in politics but instead giving a linear account of his career, leading up to his election as mayor of London in 2016.

Khan with Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, whose daughter Ella was the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Led by Global Action Plan, Clean Air Day brings together communities, businesses, schools and the health sector to improve understanding of air pollution. He seems in good form, though. He asks who I’ve interviewed recently. I mention Smokey Robinson and he’s off – singing The Tears of a Clown, talking about seeing Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross live, and his love of soul music. The waiter arrives. Khan looks at my flat white dismissively. “What’s that? That’s very posh. I’m from south London so I’m going for a skinny Americano.” It’s classic Khan – playing the geezer and not getting it quite right. To his credit, he’s told me every time we’ve met how uncool his two daughters think he is.

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Because it's invisible. If you and I were sitting here in the 1950s, we would see the smog outside the window and we'd talk about it and what's causing it. But with air pollution today, you can't see it and you can't smell it. And that is the reason why with Rosamund’s permission I talk about Ella, because it humanises it.We all know someone who has asthma, if we don’t ourselves- you and I both have asthma. And my point is that if we had this same conversation 20 years ago that wouldn't be the case. So something has caused that, and what's caused that is the same thing causing climate change, which is air pollution. So we have got to talk about it, and I'm hoping to get the message and sense of urgency across by me telling my story. Actually, it's an “us” issue and it's a “now” issue, and I think people need to recognise that. No matter which part of the country you're in or where you live, you're affected by climate change and air pollution. It's leading to not just around 4,000 premature deaths in London, but tens of thousands of premature deaths around the country, children with stunted lungs forever and adults with a whole host of health issues. The new grace periods will be available from 30 January 2023 and also apply to the existing zone. The grace periods will apply until October 2027.