I'm pleased to contribute to this debate. In recent years, for very proper reasons, climate change has come to dominate our political agenda. But, for many people, I think because they don't see an immediate impact in what they're doing, they're dissuaded from making some of the choices that would really benefit us long term. But, when we come to air quality, it is an area that has an immediate impact, and improving air quality an immediate benefit. I think that's what we need to emphasise this afternoon.

I've championed this continuously. It was one of the first speeches I made in this fifth Assembly, when I challenged the Government as to why they didn’t have an air quality section on their programme for government. Fortunately, they put that right very quickly, and I think we have advanced considerably. It was a central part of the strategy we launched last year on liveable cities, and I'm delighted to see the innovations that are being brought and suggestions in this policy area, and indeed I put Plaid's amendment in that category.

Coincidentally, Deputy Presiding Officer, there's an excellent article in today's Financial Times that summarises some of the recent research that shows the short-term impacts of bad air, and I don't think anyone's actually concentrated on that this afternoon, so perhaps I will be able to outline some of the latest studies. It's basically showing the short-term impacts on child development, on productivity, on cognitive effectiveness—all these things are being seen to have big short-term effects, as well as long ones. Research conducted in Israel found that a modest increase in particulates on the day of an Israeli students' high school examination is associated with a significant decline in the exam results of those students. When you really think about it, one significant day of air pollution could have a dramatic impact on your education and your future prospects—quite remarkable.

Another piece of research looked at call centre staff working for the same company but in different Chinese cities. On polluted days, productivity fell by between 5 and 6 per cent. Poor air quality also causes weaker performance in—and I'm not making this up—German professional footballers. They have been able to measure, on the day of the game, that, if you have been subjected to poor quality, it has an effect on your physical and mental abilities. Another study shows that living in an area of the US with a high carbon monoxide pollution rate does more harm to a baby in utero than the mother smoking 10 cigarettes a day, and another study shows that almost 3,000 children in Barcelona who were exposed to more than average air pollution suffered slower cognitive development. These are really quite significant and worrying findings, and we need to really take them very seriously indeed.

I would also like to look at a completely different area to conclude, and that’s the quality of indoor air pollution. Studies have shown that this can be over three times worse than outdoor air pollution, and UK campaigners have called this effect on our households as 'toxic boxes' due to the number of air pollution particulates that can be trapped inside our homes. Research has said this is due to a combination of indoor activities, such as cooking or burning wood, alongside outdoor pollution from transport, which travel inside, creating a build-up of pollution inside the home, and these pollution peaks take a lot longer to disperse than outdoor pollution. So, I think it’s very important that we remember, in terms of the quality of housing design and our current policy, in terms of how we renovate and improve energy efficiency and the like, that there’s a real air quality impact, and those pollutants building up at home can turn our most precious spaces into zones of significant harm.

So, we really need now to have a comprehensive strategy, I think, around air quality. It fits into climate change, but it also fits into many public health issues, productivity, the efficiency of the economy and educational outcomes. But I’ve been very pleased with the tone of the debate this afternoon. I really do think this is beyond party politics, and what we want from everyone and from the Government is more ambition, and we’ll encourage you when you set more ambitious targets, and that’s really also what I think the people of Wales want.