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Air pollution will be the subject of the Environmental Audit Committee’s next inquiry, following a call for pitches from experts and the public.

Report: The Environment in Focus

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The Committee has today published its report on ‘The Environment in Focus’, concluding a process which had seen almost 200 suggestions, whittled down to five final ‘Dragons Den’ style pitches proposed to the cross-party group of MPs.

MPs chose to pursue an inquiry into air pollution, presented by Jemima Hartshorn, Founder and Director, Mums for Lungs and Dr Nat Easton, Air Quality Researcher and Specialist Policy Officer, University of Southampton.

The Clean Air Act 1956 established the UK as a world leader for many years. Yet seventy years on, research estimates that long-term exposure to air pollution causes up to 43,000 early deaths a year in the UK, and an estimated £50 billion in healthcare costs. Many people are unaware of the link between air pollution and serious health problems such as heart disease and dementia.

The new inquiry will be launched with full terms of reference in 2026.

Chair comment

Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee Toby Perkins MP said:

“I would like to thank all those who appeared before the Committee. All the pitches we heard were passionate, well-evidenced and thoughtful.

The Committee ultimately chose to pursue an inquiry into air pollution. The UK was once a world leader in air pollution, but we risk falling behind as other countries progress.

This is an issue of equality too. It is many of the poorest in our society who are most vulnerable to the serious health impacts of air pollution.

I look forward to launching this inquiry in 2026. I encourage anyone with experience of, or expertise in, air pollution or public health to consider submitting evidence.

We were very much impressed by the pitches we saw, and have also agreed to consider whether data centres and Ancient woodlands and peatlands might also be investigated in 2026.”

The other ideas considered by MPs were:

• ‘The environmental impact of data centres and artificial intelligence’, presented by Miss Rowena Shivam, student of Sustainable Built Environment, Energy and Resources, University College London and CEO and Founder, BNG Smart
• ‘The environmental importance of woodlands and peatlands’, presented by Dr Chris Nichols, Head of Conservation Evidence and Outcomes, The Woodland Trust and Ms Sally Nex, Advocate, The Peat-free Partnership
• ‘Assessing UK resilience to multi-hazard weather risks and climate breakdown’, presented by Dr Susan O'Leary, Director, Centre for Research into Sustainability, Royal Holloway, University of London and Dr John Hillier, Loughborough University
• ‘Comparing the UK's environmental regime with those of countries subject to oversight by the European Environmental Agency’, presented by Ben Reynolds, Executive Director, IEEP UK and David Baldock, Honorary Fellow, IEEP UK.