My talk at the BAQ2016 in Busan, South Korea

With the New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman accusing VW of “wilful and systematic” use of emission cheating devices in their diesel cars; Australia also pursuing now a similar path this week; and the South Korean’s threatening not to certifying VW vehicles, when is our government going to drive us away from diesel as well? This is precisely what was being asked of me after a talk l did on “Tackling the impact od Diesel in European Cities” at Better Air Quality Conference in Busan, South Korea. It’s all very well telling us what major cities in Europe are doing but what about the national governments of Europe and the EU of course really doing as the US leads on the issue when it is not actual hooked on diesel cars in the same way as we are in Europe.

The over­ stating of the CO2 global emissions benefits of diesel while increasing local emissions of NOx has been a very European experience. With at least in France it’s PM Manuel Valls apologising for getting it wrong with diesel in an attempt to reduce CO2 as a measure for climate protection at the beginning of the century, something we did as well without the apology and admittance of guilt yet. Furthermore, in recent official probes of Renault emission discrepancies were omitted and green groups have suggested the France state has a conflict of interest, as it has 15 per cent stakes in both Renault and Citroen.

In Germany the government also has a similar struggle with its car manufacturer to the French as their federal government structure does not want to give up diesel tax breaks under strong lobbying by companies like VW, BMW and Audi. While its cities push for city bans of older diesels, its car industry retorts “ it would be fundamental mistake to bad mouth diesel whoever supports climate protection…you can’t forget diesel”

Unfortunately it’s the same with us though with a different type of tax break. Since 2001, there has been a 3p cut in low­sulphur diesel in a bid to cut carbon emissions by encouraging motorists to drive diesel cars. As for the European Union (EU) we can’t expect similar action against French & German car manufacturers as is being undertaken by US authorities quite yet. After all it’s the EU standards which are at fault. Tests conducted by International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) show that modern diesel cars emit as much as 7 times the EU limits for NOx in real world conditions. Furthermore, now we going out of EU we can not rely on their directives and commissioners taking action to reverse the harm to Londoners life’s with the silent killer that is air pollution and particular problems with NOx. There is talk of another Clean Air Act like the 1956 Act targeted at NOx but this doesn’t immediately get away from the fiscal incentives for diesel for the car driver we have already.

If we don’t, it risks undermining all our city initiatives to reduce air pollution including those in London by the new Mayor through the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). After all the diesel issue explains the lack of progress made in Greater London since 2008.

So maybe we could start with government hiking up diesel fuel duty by getting rid of the 3 p duty advantage for diesel fuel from the beginning of the century. 

Undertaking my keynote speech at 17th IUAPPA & 9th CAA Better Air Quality Conference

With air pollution now a global environmental and health crisis, experts from around the world meet in Busan, South Korea recently in a joint meeting of two of the leading international air quality organisations to address the multiple challenges being faced around the globe and ways forward for countries and cities

Clean Air Asia’s 9th Better Air Quality Conference (BAQ) and the 17th International Union of Air Pollution Prevention and Environmental Protection Associations’ World Clean Air Congress (WCAC) brought together nearly 1000 representatives from governments, environmental ministries, the private sector, NGOs, research institutions, academia and civil society, including many of the world’s most prominent figures in their fields, at the landmark event themed “Clean Air for Cities: Perspectives and Solutions”.

The Conference, opened with a stark warning from World Health Organisation Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan that worldwide there is a long way to go in tackling the health effects of air pollution and the toll of premature mortality. Her warning was reinforced by new scientific assessments reported to the meeting, concluded that the toll of premature deaths from air pollution is set to rise through the coming decades before falling.

It is estimated 3 million people die prematurely each year from outdoor pollution and without action deaths will double by 2050. In six major Indian cities 30 – 50% of the air pollution is attributed to the transport sector. To avoid such negative impacts from motorized traffic, but also on road safety and public health issues, sustainable urban mobility must become one of the main occupations of cities.

A further report from the Health Effects Institute (HEI) newest study in China indicates that if no further action is taken, as the Chinese population continues to grow and age, the health impact of air pollution – in terms of deaths from cardiovascular and lung diseases – will potentially increase to 1.3 million deaths annually by 2030.

Saying this the study notes, with currently planned and potential additional actions to control air pollution from PM2.5, a key pollutant, levels in China are projected to substantially decline by 2030. Despite the adverse trend in premature mortality, if China continues to build on the positive actions it has already taken, 275,000 premature deaths could be avoided. These findings held not just for China but for much of Asia., as work suggests that the largest potential for deteriorating air quality is in India, while Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam are also high on the list of countries where premature mortality attributable to air pollution is growing rapidly.

The assessments both suggested that there was major potential from cost-effective measures that could be taken now to improve air quality. urging that while a continuing focus on traffic emissions was essential, other pollution sources, notably residential energy use, industrial emissions and agriculture, should receive more emphasis.

Commenting on the findings, Dr Carlos Dora from the World Health Organisation said: “China and other countries in Asia are now beginning to take vigorous action on air pollution, but these results highlight the scale and urgency of the challenge they face. Recent work by the World Health Organization indicates that in many cities air pollution is still getting worse, and almost as many people today rely upon polluting wood, biomass and coal fuels for cooking as they did a decade ago.”

A global response to the challenge is now being articulated, with the first World Health Assembly resolution on air pollution and health in 2015; a road map for its implementation in 2016; and air pollution featuring in four of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN last year. This opens important opportunities which now need to be carried through to national and local action. By making urban air quality a health and development priority, cities can improve air quality, reduce health costs from air pollution-related diseases and enhance worker’s productivity life expectancy and well-being.

During the conference the international NGO Clean Air Asia launched a English version of “China Air 2016– Air Pollution Prevention and Control Progress in Chinese Cities” with information about 161 Chinese cities’ implementation of the country’s declaration of war against air pollution – “Air Pollution Control and Prevention Action Plan”, which mapped out the nation’s air pollution prevention and control efforts until 2017.

The report showed the air quality of Chinese cities improved in 2015 compared with the previous year. The annual mean concentration of PM 2.5 , PM 10 , SO2 and NO2 was generally on the decline in 74 cities as compared with 2014, decreasing by 14.1%, 11.4%, 21.9% and 7.1% on average, respectively. But it is still common for Chinese cities to not meet standards, especially in the winter when heavy pollution was more frequent.

The report showed that, most of the cities which did not make desirable progress are located in Henan, Shandong and the north eastern part of China, which have less experience and weaker ability about air pollution prevention and control compared to developed regions. The report suggests the central government provide systematic and comprehensive capacity building to cities with weaker air quality management ability besides putting pressure on them.

Hopefully soon this bi-annual air quality conference will be hosted in China and China can build on the progress being across the whole of Asia. 

Finally please find a link to my presentation as a key note speaker on Tackling the impact of diesel on European Cities. 

As your Big Read article suggests but does not quite conclude, the trouble with the Olympic Games is that they need a permanent home (“The high price of Olympic glory”, August 1).

Last night at a consultation meeting with residents of Baker Street tube station & TfL took place at their offices behind the station, to discuss tube noise issues. The above map was presented of all the rail noise and vibration complaints made to TfL along the tube system. Each yellow stop, indicates a point of noise complaint along the tubes. 

From what l have heard and seen, the problem is by far the worst in the Baker Street neighbourhood, though what l heard from residents in Notting Hill Gate last night did make me wonder. Nonetheless, it did not appear that all instances of the problem had been recorded by TfL particularly on their map above. 

For example l had previously meet up with residents in Walthamstowe with my ex-colleague Jennette Arnold AM and their long standing complaint was not registered at the end of the Victoria Line in North London. Please check the map. 

Whilst the immediate emphasis is on the Victoria & Central line providing a night service on Friday & Saturday night by the end of August, you will need to get registered into TfL list of complaints for them to acknowledge the problem at all.

If you are not on it, get in touch with them immediately.

It is clear that a lot of it won’t be sorted out before the night service has began but those with noise complaints living above or along the tube lines need to make their representations asap. 

Walking to school is when a lot of pupils our exposed to
poor air

In the Mayor’s of London lists of 440 schools breaching EU toxic air limits, City of Westminster schools feature strongly with 6 of the top 10 primary schools with the highest breaches and the top secondary school affected by breaches in the borough. Furthermore, the schools are located in all parts of the Borough – Paddington, Marylebone, Pimlico & Covent Gardens – affecting children in both richer and poorer parts of the borough.    

iIlustrating well how central the City of Westminster is in tackling the air pollution crisis in London. It will need the borough working very closely with the Mayor of London on particular hotspots like Marylebone Rd where we have a concentration of schools affected by NO2 annual mean over 60 ug/m3, along the boundary of the congestion zone. I trust we can see particular initiatives along the Marylebone Road, which tackles the worst affected primary & secondary schools in the whole of London.  

The only Tower in Church St Ward is Burne House on Bell Street, NW1

Latest figures from Census 2011 calculated by my colleague Cllr David Boothroyd shows that that the City of Westminster has some of the most densely packed wards in the United Kingdom (UK) including the top three spots in a table of Wards – Church Street, Harrow Rd, Tachbrook.

Church Street Ward, takes top spot but it doesn’t as such have a skyline of any sort, with over 11,000 residents in 43 hectares. It has one major Estate – Lisson Estate – along with a whole series of smaller Estates and street properties. The only Tower in the Ward is along the end of Bell St immediately behind Edgware Rd ( Bakerloo line ) tube station owned by BT, the ugly Burne House which lies largely empty! Furthermore, In the top ten mostly densely packed Wards, the City of Westminster has 5 wards including Bayswater & Lancaster Gate, so its not just the poorer wards. 

What’s this mean for its residents? Well it certainly makes for more intimate living than we have in the rest of the UK! More seriously its something we should take into consideration in the provision of both public services and other services in these Wards and should be of special factor in both. So for example in the provision of rubbish collection, it should mean greater concentrations of rubbish. And lets nor forget open space provision should also be of particular concerns as well, for those in those Wards.

What ever happens, some analysis of the implication to lives of our residents should be undertaken. So l hope to hear your views on how it feels to live in the some densely packed City in London.

Running along side Ali’s funeral journey to his final place of rest in Louisville.

When my father passed away in 2009 ( late Cllr Mushtaq Qureshi), I said the only other funeral I would want to be at would be Muhammad Ali’s one. So, when l heard he passed away on the morning of the 4th of June, l was ready to go the 4,000 odd miles to get to his funeral in Louisville, Kentucky, USA without hesitation.

For the simply reason that he is the greatest, as he had a phenomenal influence in the 20th century.  It wasn’t just confined to the sporting arena as the three times world heavyweight champion of the world, but also as a civil rights campaigner in the 1960s who dared to say “Black is beautiful” ; a conscientious objector against the Vietnam war which cost him his prime years in the ring; a poet and undoubtedly the first king of rap with magical lines like “I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee….” and not least of all a global celebrity everyone in the world recognised.

I think of him as one of the most outstanding individuals we are likely to see in certainly my lifetime and we’re not likely to see his like again.

When people talk about him it’s as if he’s their own, an uncle or a grandfather or a friend. Even my niece of only five years of age, talked as though her father and l were going to a family funeral when we set off for Louisville. She also told me Ali had died in early hours of Saturday morning.

So dare l say it was very much a spiritual pilgrimage for many who went to his funeral including myself.

On the way back to the UK from Muhammad Ali’s funeral, we heard of the appalling Orlando shooting from fellow passengers on my flight back to London via Orlando International airport last Sunday evening.

If the assailant was trying to derail the goodwill after Ali’s passing away he will failed miserably. While America buried its favourite son, as a proud Black Muslim, they watched for the first time by the tens of million the last rites of a Muslim burial. As Ali’s Jenazah in the Freedom Hall was televised live across the whole of the States on local TV channels, illustrating well Americans acceptance that you can be both American and Muslim in the United States. That is part of Ali’s legacy.

As we travelled back to London via the South by car from Kentucky to Georgia you could feel the goodwill in the United States at the pit stops along their highways. Ali was clearly accepted as an American hero. The afterglow of Ali’s funeral was having an impact well into the deep South. Personally l certainly didn’t feel any animosity aimed at me when l would have clearly stood out.

Interestingly as well, l didn’t have any difficulties travelling into and through the States. Given the discourse on whether Muslim travel bans or arms sale restrictions would have stopped the attack in Orlando it appears at least the authorities are managing this quite well without being intrusive.   

So, anyone who has any respect for Ali and his legacy, will stand in solidarity with Orlando & the LGBT community at their time of need.

That’s why as soon as l got off the plane and heard of the Soho vigil for the victims of Orlando shooting, l went to Old Crompton Street in the evening. The proceedings in front of the Admiral Duncan, it felt to me very similar to the vigil after the 7th of July London bombings in Trafalgar Square, another heartfelt vigil for many Londoners.  

This blog was published in West End Forum on the 24th June 2016 as their Forum piece. 

Here’s my speech on the night

I am not going to offer doom & gloom as the PM & the Chancellor with a third world war or a depression coming around the corner if we leave the EU. But you should take note when almost all Economists are concerned about the impact economically when its a profession where normally if you have two of them in the same room, you can expect more three opinions! Critically over half of them think that 3 per cent of GDP will be lost over 5 years, while the IFS suggests two years of austerity in UK finances.

As for the EU contributions its disingenous its suggest the £350 million when we have structural monies going to our poor area and it doesn’t acknowledge the rebate that Margaret “Thatcher obtained for the UK. For example much monies go to our poor areas like Cornwall and Wales and English farmers also now benefit from Common Agricultural Policy.

Lets also not forget the many benefits we have had from the Social Chapter and Directives for Workers Rights

• Paid leave
• part-time and full-time workers having the same rights
• Temp and permanent contracts being the same
•  Women having guaranteed maternity leave

We can’t rely on Tories to defend them, nor can with the BEXITERS 

As for sovereignty and power, the PM risks breaking up the United Kingdom, with this EU referendum, as he can not keep his Party together on Europe.

The Polls suggest, the Scots, Irish & Welsh will want to stay in, while English want out accept for Londoners.

As its not so much putting the Great back in Britain but having a disunited Britain afterwards.  

TTIP

Finally London has been a great beneficiary of EU labour into our economy.

You only have to look at Church St on a friday night, with Polish women servicing in the Seashell and the French bankers drinking around the local pubs. 

But we need to stamp out abuses like low wages and poor terms and conditions of work. 

Saying this, we have to remember that EU migrants are net beneficiaries to the tax system and very often keep our public services going. 

So its the economy stupid, don’t forget the implications to the sovereignty  of the UK and London has certainly benefited from EU migrants. 

Air pollution over Central London

The new WHO data shed light on the severity of the air pollution problem globally is it not time to have an 18th sustainable development goal, clean air for all. 

The WHO data shows that outdoor pollution causes more than 3 million premature deaths a year globally, more than malaria and HIV/Aids and is now the biggest single killer in the world. This toll is expected to double as urbanisation increases and car numbers approach 2 billion by 2050. Outdoor pollution has risen 8 per cent in five years with fast growing cities in the developing world worst affected.

Furthermore as the millenium development goals (MDG)  era came to an conclusion, world leaders last September ushered an era for the new agenda. Calling on countries to begin their efforts to achieve 17 sustainable development goals (SDG’s) over the next 15 years from ending poverty to protecting eco-systems.  But surprisingly no mention was made for clean air for all as an SDG.

The Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon stated at the time “ The seventeen SDG’s are our shared vision of humanity and a social contract between world leaders and the people. They are a to do-list for people and planet, and blueprint for success” Surely clean air should be added on the do-list. 

In light of such compelling evidence, clean air for all should be adopted by the UN as the 18^th sustainable development goal for nations to attain over the next 15 years.

After a million users of our pharmacies in the UK signed to stop the cuts to their services, the Prime Minister in response to a PMQ asked by a MP, that rural pharmacies should be protected. However he neglected to mention the fate of urban pharmacies in our towns and cities which is cause for concern. 

During the recent campaign for the Mayor & London Assembly l went along to my local pharmacy along Church St with soon to be Councillor Aicha Less, the Market Chemists ably run by Shiraz Mohammed, seeing first hand the excellent services run by the pharmacy over and above just drugs over a counter. Here l was told of the impact of the 6 per cent cut in the NHS for pharmacies by Rekha Shah and how the clustering argument maybe used to take away the services we have along Church Street market, having an disproportionate impact on London. 

The Prime Minister has expressed sympathy towards rural pharmacies, but I hope it isn’t at the expense of urban pharmacies we depend on. Some of them are clustered centrally, but that shouldn’t make the government think they aren’t valuable.

So while the government’s commitment to protect rural pharmacies is good news, it has remained silent on those operating in some of the most vulnerable urban communities.

I trust an elected London politician will take up their cause asap now that l am no longer at City Hall and in particular the Mayor of London.