London mayor announces £6m to tackle air pollution

Winners across five categories including Health and Wellbeing, Storytelling and Community Collaboration won £500 to go towards their air quality projects, supported by Breathe Cities. These awards were hosted by deputy mayor for the environment, Mete Coban, in partnership with VodafoneThree, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Clean Air Fund. Coban marked Clean Air Day with a number of events, including attending a Clean Air Fund Parliamentary reception and hosting an air quality action event with young people.

The mayor’s wider policies to tackle London’s air pollution, including the implementation and expansion of London’s ultra low emission zone (ulez), the world’s biggest clean air zone, led to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels falling to within the legal limits for the first time in 2024. Earlier this month a study by Imperial also found the T-charge and ulez are associated with a fall in hospital admissions in London – revealing that since their introduction, the schemes were linked to 8.1 per cent reductions in yearly trends for cardiovascular disease, 6.2 per cent for respiratory disease and 3.1 per cent for all cause-related hospital admissions in the scheme area.

“The Great Smog brought London to a standstill 75 years ago and claimed thousands of lives,” said deputy mayor for environment and energy, Mete Coban. “The introduction of the Clean Air Act in 1956 showed that big problems need bold action. This is why the mayor has worked tirelessly to clean up London’s air since he was elected in 2016 and today, on Clean Air Day, we want to celebrate all that London has done together to tackle air pollution in the capital. 

“The Mayor’s Air Quality Fund has already inspired impressive changes, from new Healthy School Streets and green transport grants to segregated cycle lanes and school workshops. By investing a further £6m, we will empower community organisations and boroughs to develop projects that reduce air pollution across the capital, improving the health of millions as we continue to build a greener, fairer city.”