NDM7264 Plaid Cymru Debate - Air Pollution

NDM7264 Sian Gwenllian (Arfon)

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Believes that air pollution is a public health crisis, which contributes to an estimated 2,000 deaths a year in Wales.

2. Notes that large areas of Wales do not monitor air quality.

3. Calls for a clean air act for Wales, which would include measures to:

a) give communities the right to have pollution-monitoring equipment outside of schools and hospitals;

b) create infrastructure that would enable local authorities to introduce pollution and congestion charges where appropriate,

c) reform the planning process to require the impact of a development on air pollution to be given greater weight in the planning system;

d) accelerate the transition to an electric transport system so that petrol and diesel cars are phased out by 2030.

The following amendments have been tabled:

Amendment 1 - Rebecca Evans (Gower)

Delete point 2 and replace with:

Calls for a new national air pollution monitoring network that complements Wales’ existing monitoring capabilities.

Amendment 2 - Darren Millar (Clwyd West)

Add as new point after point 2 and renumber accordingly:

Further notes that air pollution exacerbates existing lung conditions and is a cause of asthma and lung cancer, and that the long-term impacts of poor air quality are not yet fully understood.

Amendment 3 - Rebecca Evans (Gower)

In point 3, delete 'which would include measures to:' and replace with 'and for Welsh Government and UK Government to take decisive action to strengthen all measures, using legislation where necessary, to:'.

Amendment 4 - Darren Millar (Clwyd West)

In point 3, insert as new sub-points before sub-point (a) and renumber accordingly:

 'enshrine in law World Health Organisation air quality guidelines;

mandate the Welsh Government to produce a statutory air quality strategy every five years;'

Amendment 5 - Darren Millar (Clwyd West)

In point 3(a), insert ', and introduce a “right to breathe”' after 'hospitals'.