Air Pollution

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:03 pm on 6 November 2018.

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Photo of Carwyn Jones Carwyn Jones Labour 2:03, 6 November 2018

Well, the concern we have about the World Health Organization guidelines is that they are based solely on scientific conclusions about public health aspects of air pollution. So far, so good. But they don’t consider the technical feasibility or the economic, political and social aspects of achieving that. And this is where we have to have a balance as a Government. There is no doubt at all, for example, that air quality in Port Talbot would be mightily improved if there was no steelworks there, but nobody would seriously suggest that that is a reason, then, to see the end of steel production in Port Talbot. And yet, we know that the steelworks inevitably—despite, of course, the fact that it's improved hugely over the years in terms of the reduction of its carbon footprint—will always be a polluter in that way. So, the balance we seek is a Government is, of course, to promote, for example, more sustainable forms of transport, and we're doing that through the south Wales metro, working with local authorities like Cardiff to do that. But, of course, there will be—. If the guidelines were incorporated into Welsh law, that might well create many problems in terms of the economy and jobs if we weren't careful.