 Tonia Antoniazzi MP, has pledged her support for cleaner air in celebration of Clean Air Day, in light of new regulations which will come into effect by October. Tonia said “Everyone deserves to breathe clean air: so it is concerning that there are neighbourhoods in south Wales and across the country that exceed safe pollution limits set by the World Health Organisation. “The government must act to ensure ambitious clean air targets are reached by 2030 rather than 2040, to save tens of thousands of lives from premature deaths caused by dirty air and billions of pounds. “Children are the most vulnerable to the effects of toxic air and we have a duty to ensure they are protected from harmful pollutants. Traffic controls outside schools at the start and end of the school day will help minimize our children’s exposure to air pollution and encourage more people to walk to school. “We also need to give people precise information from live air quality monitors about the level of pollution near their homes so that people can be empowered.”  Tonia Antoniazzi MP for Gower has criticised the Government for not opposing drilling in the Cambo Oil field saying sends the wrong message in fight against climate change.
The Cambo oil field is approximately 75 miles west of the Shetland Islands and contains over 800 million barrels of oil. Currently new oil field developments will be required to pass a “climate compatibility checkpoint” to determine whether they are compatible with the UK’s climate objectives, however Cambo will not be required to do so as its original licensing approval dates back to 2001. If approved by the Oil and Gas Authority, drilling at Cambo could start as early as 2022. Tonia Antoniazzi MP said, “There is no response to the climate crisis that does not ultimately confront the problem of fossil fuel supply head on. As things stand, the UN has warned that countries are on course to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels by 2030 than would be consistent with limiting average global temperature increases to 1.5°C. "We must reach an international agreement on a managed and fair phase out of fossil fuels across the globe. To do this, we need the UK Government to show leadership as the COP26 climate conference approaches. "Drilling for more oil and gas simply sends the message that the Government does not take the climate emergency seriously and has not accepted the urgent need to phase out fossil fuel production. |