The 2026
Clean Air
Commitment
London could be a clean air global city, but we need to act now.
Everyone in our city should have the right to breathe clean air, whoever they are and wherever they live. But in too many places, too much of the time, our air is still much dirtier than international guidelines for safe air. Air pollution causes or worsens health problems from asthma and lung cancer to strokes, heart disease, dementia and many more. It leads to people dying early, childhoods spent in and out of hospital and it has a major impact on London’s health services, economy, and sources of climate emissions.
Cleaning up our air is a social justice issue, because air pollution hits people with existing health conditions, poorer and racially minoritised communities, children, and the elderly the hardest. Things have got better - but there’s still work to do to deliver a London where no one is made sick by the air they breathe.
In May 2026, Londoners will go to the polls to elect 1,800 councillors to run 33 local authorities. These elected councillors will have the power to act to clean up major sources of air pollution and climate emissions, like transport and housing.
We’re calling for them to:
ADOPT WORLD-LEADING TARGETS AND HELP MAKE LONDON A CLEAN AIR GLOBAL CITY
In too many places, too much of the time, London’s air is still much dirtier than international guidelines allow.
Monitors around the city continue to record levels of pollution well above the UK’s legal limits. These legal limits are also higher than the World Health Organization’s international guidelines for safe air, which were updated in 2021 to reflect the evidence about the health harms of long-term exposure. That means that all of us, but especially those living on or near main roads and in poorer parts of the city, are still breathing in toxic pollutants every day.
Until London meets the World Health Organization’s full guidelines (2021) , Londoners will continue to live with the burden of poorer health because of the air they breathe. Cleaning up our air means better lives, a stronger economy, and a fairer London for everyone. It’s not just about the environment, but about health, equality, justice and creating better places for us to live.
London’s leaders must show they’re serious about toxic air by adopting international guidelines for safe air, and setting out credible plans to take us there, as soon as possible.
Having made some progress already, London has an opportunity to demonstrate how capital cities around the world can evolve into places where everyone breathes easy, no matter who they are or where they live.
All of our politicians, at every level of government, must adopt a vision for a city where no one is made sick by the air they breathe, and work together to make it happen.
PLEDGE ONE
Formally adopt the World Health Organization’s full 2021 guidelines, including interim targets by 2030; and commit to helping make London a clean air global city.
PLEDGE TWO
Publish a credible pathway towards these guidelines, setting out named actors and timeframes where action is within borough powers, and assessing what action should be taken by other bodies.
DITCH DIESEL AND HELP LONDON’S WORKERS BREATHE EASY
Diesel is one of the most damaging substances for our health, and too many of us are still having to breathe in these fumes every day, often just by going to work.
London’s tradespeople, taxi drivers, bus drivers and delivery workers spend hours and hours each day on the roads, where they’re breathing in the toxic pollutants released by burning diesel in vehicles. But London’s workers shouldn’t have to choose between their livelihoods and their health. They deserve a city which doesn’t make them sick just for going to work, where clean vehicles and healthy workplaces are the norm.
London has made progress electrifying buses and taxis - though there’s still more to do. While we keep moving towards fully electric bus and taxi fleets as soon as possible, we need a similar level of ambition for London’s vans and diesel cars, all aimed at getting diesel off the streets as quickly as possible and replacing them with cleaner electric models - or even cargo bikes.
Londoners who need to drive a van or spend hours on the road each day behind the wheels of a diesel vehicle - like small business owners and taxi drivers - need dedicated support to switch from diesel to electric vans, or even to zero-emission alternatives like cargo bikes.
It’s not just those driving for work either. As ‘Dieselgate’ showed, plenty of Londoners are unknowingly driving highly polluting diesel cars which meet ULEZ standards, but are only making our air more toxic. With the right support for workers and Londoners, London could be the world’s first diesel-free city.
PLEDGE THREE
Engage with the Mayor and Greater London Authority to call for the introduction of a dedicated and targeted London-wide scheme to help Londoners reliant on a vehicle access electric or zero-emission models, including electric vans and e-cargo cycles; and explore targeted social leasing of electric vehicles and cycles.
PLEDGE FOUR
Protect people at work by advising employers to conduct air quality risk assessments alongside workers and recognised trade unions.
DELIVER LESS TRAFFIC AND MORE MOVEMENT, BRINGING ECONOMIC AND HEALTH BENEFITS FOR ALL
London has opened new public transport links, our cycle network is steadily expanding, and lower speed limits have made our streets safer - but our roads and our lungs are still choked by too many private car journeys, in too many places.
The more traffic there is, the more polluted our air - and the more dangerous and hostile our communities become for those who want to walk, wheel or cycle. The share of journeys taken by public transport, walking, wheeling or cycling hasn’t changed since 2016, and traffic has been steadily rising since 2020, while cars are getting bigger and bigger.
When there’s less traffic, there’s more space for buses that run on time, wider pavements that are accessible and safe, and protected cycle lanes where more of us feel comfortable getting on a bike. This is good news for up to 50% of households who don’t have a car at all - and good for those who need to drive too. A London with less traffic is a London where it’s easier for all of us to get around.
Londoners need affordable and accessible alternatives. We can make space for this to happen by prioritising buses, other public transport, and active travel - enabling more of us to get around cheaply and healthily, and delivering huge economic and health benefits for all, including those who need to drive.
PLEDGE FIVE
Publish a strategy to enable 25% more journeys to be taken by public transport and active travel by 2030, supporting up to 50% of Londoners who don’t have a car and those who’d like not to, by prioritising affordable and accessible buses, walking, wheeling, and safe cycling; and schemes to rapidly improve access to legal e-cycles and electric car clubs for those who need them.
Everyone deserves to be safe at home - but too many of us are breathing in dirty air indoors, where we spend up to 90% of our time.
Damp and mould, using gas for cooking, and burning wood are all major causes of harmful air pollution that can affect our health (while contributing to climate change too).
Whether it’s in poor quality housing, using a log burner at home, or using gas or solid fuel for cooking at home or in restaurants, we need to make sure indoor air pollution gets as much focus as outdoor air pollution.
We can make a huge difference to the air that Londoners are breathing by starting with the places where people are most at risk and spend most of their time - cleaning up our homes. Healthy and low-cost homes and workplaces are good for people, planet and the economy.
High-quality retrofit to existing housing is a major part of the solution: bringing down our bills, creating green jobs, and meaning more of us feel well, more of the time.
LEAD THE WAY ON WARM HOMES AND LOWER BILLS
PLEDGE SIX
Introduce a borough-wide warm homes strategy that accelerates high-quality retrofit for households in poorly insulated homes and ensures all social housing is well insulated and affordable to heat; enforces existing legislation that all privately rented housing should reach at least EPC C by 2030; discourages burning of wood and gas; supports much wider deployment of community energy schemes; and ensures every Londoner can access clean and affordable heat and energy, lowering bills and improving air quality.
Take action
If you’re a councillor, or a candidate to become a councillor, fill out this form to sign up to the Clean Air Commitment.
Write to your local councillor to ask them to sign up to our six pledges. It’s simple with our easy-to-use tool.
Possible and the London Healthy Air Coalition are politically independent. We do not support or oppose parties or candidates. Signing these pledges does not imply endorsement for candidates by Possible, or London Healthy Air Coalition members.