Jeff Smith MP recently attended an event in Parliament to mark #CleanAirDay.

PGMBM hosted this event with pioneering UK clean air NGOs including UK100, ClientEarth, Asthma + Lung UK, Clean Cities Campaign, Global Action Plan and Mums for Lungs.

It brought together Parliamentarians, leading experts and advocates to discuss the impact of air pollution to our health and climate, and how people can support cleaning up our air.

Around 40,000 people die prematurely from air pollution in the UK every year. But this number could be as high as 64,000 of all premature deaths in the UK.

Virtually every home in the UK is subjected to air pollution above World Health Organization guidelines, according to the most detailed map of dirty air to date.

Research by PGMBM estimates that every vehicle fitted with a defeat device is the equivalent to having an extra 2.2 vehicles on our roads. This is equivalent to having 10.2 million diesel vehicles in the UK producing harmful emissions.

Data from PGMBM suggests that in Manchester Withington, the excess NOx emissions resulting from Dieselgate is equivalent to an extra 9,131 diesel vehicles.

The UK Government could have avoided thousands of deaths had it acted to reduce air pollution caused by Dieselgate.

The APPG for Air Pollution want to see the government act immediately in working with car manufacturers to protect people’s health and safeguard the wider environment after falling far behind other nations.

MPs are asking the Prime Minister for his support for cleaner air, and if he will put the building back of a safer environment and climate for our future generations at the heart of the Government’s agenda.

Tom Goodhead, Managing Partner at PGMBM said:

“This research shows the effect that the Dieselgate scandal has had on our country. We’ve already settled one case with Volkswagen and we hope the other car manufacturers will now take notice. We want justice and compensation for our clients and to hold the car companies to account so they change their approach and scandals like Dieselgate never happen again.”

Jeff Smith MP said:

“Seven years have passed since the Dieselgate scandal first erupted. Unlike other countries, the UK has missed an opportunity to reduce avoidable pollution that will have contributed to thousands of unnecessary early deaths. We need immediate action with car manufacturers to protect people’s health and safeguard the wider environment.

“It was a pleasure to meet with a coalition of clean air NGOs on Clean Air Day and pledge my support for action on air pollution.”