8. Plaid Cymru Debate: Air Pollution

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:22 pm on 5 February 2020.

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Photo of Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru 5:22, 5 February 2020

(Translated)

Thank you very much, Llywydd, and I thank everyone who has taken part in a debate that has genuinely been a constructive one this afternoon. I thank Andrew R.T. Davies first. I'm pleased to hear him echo the view I aired about the contrast between the lack of urgency towards tackling the problem of air pollution—the contrast between that and the expectation for urgent action if it was something else that claimed so many lives. And you are right as well to say that dirty water at one time had been considered acceptable, in a previous age. And the solution now, in moving forward, is a clean air Act, in order to ensure that we move to thinking about the air that we breathe in the same way.

Llyr Gruffydd also made the point that the severity of the problem isn't reflected in the severity and the urgency of the Government's response. I'm grateful to Llyr for referring to that situation in Chirk, and the realisation there has been in the community there that we have to tackle the severe pollution that they live with, and the need for much more detailed monitoring. And the solution is a clean air Act.

From Jenny Rathbone, urban pollution was chiefly referred to by the Cardiff Central Member. Our children in our cities and towns are in danger—it's as simple as that—because of pollution, pollution from vehicles mainly, in the examples we heard about. John Griffiths also spoke specifically about traffic from the school run and the danger emanating from that. We have to monitor in detail on order to measure far better what is happening outside our schools, and the solution once again is a clean air Act.

And Dai Lloyd—