Hansard

Yes, my speech is wet, but I will get through it. I will try not to touch anything electrical for the next few minutes.

I agree with Stewart Stevenson that we should live in the countryside. Unfortunately, not all of us can or do. It is interesting that the league table of our most polluted cities shows that our most polluted streets are in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee.

I will focus less on the science and more on the policy. It is no great surprise that, according to today’s headline in The Scotsman, air pollution levels in Scotland are now a “medical emergency”. Nevertheless, that might surprise many people, given the extent to which Scotland’s economy and industry have changed over recent years and the fact that the heavy industries of Edinburgh and Glasgow that were deemed to pollute those cities have largely been replaced by service industries.

There is still a general lack of understanding among the public as to why air pollution levels are so high, what is causing that and what is being done about it. It is one of those issues that we do not think about until it affects us personally. It affects me personally, as my mother has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and she, like many people with asthma or similar conditions, knows the obvious and direct effect that air quality has on her day-to-day life. Thankfully, she lives in a part of the country that benefits from more than its fair share of fresh sea air, but a day trip to Glasgow or Edinburgh can be difficult for her and occasionally impossible. Hope Street in Glasgow is the most polluted street in Scotland, and the six most polluted streets in Scotland are in the three aforementioned cities.

In Scotland, over 2,500 deaths per year are associated with air pollution. Worldwide, air pollution causes 25 per cent of strokes, 23 per cent of heart disease and 14 per cent of lung cancers. Given that Scotland already has the highest age-standardised premature death rates for cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease and strokes, it is vital that we address one of the key contributing factors.

The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, which is a United Kingdom body, suggests that particulate matter pollution, as it is known, is attributable to an average life loss of around three to four months in Scotland and accounts for around 5 per cent of deaths in Edinburgh and Glasgow, which is not an insignificant number. Reducing that level by even just 10 micrograms per cubic metre is expected to have a greater impact on human life than eliminating passive smoking.

It is not just healthcare that is affected by air pollution, though. It also affects our economy—specifically our rural economy. Poor air quality hurts crop yields to the tune of around £183 million a year. Given that over 60 per cent of the land in Scotland is used for agriculture—for grazing and growing crops—surely there is also an economic argument for improving air quality.

In the short time that I have left, I will touch on some transport issues, because transport has a key role to play in the reduction of CO₂ emissions. That is why I welcome the LEZs. However, as Donald Cameron said, there are genuine concerns about the roll-out of LEZs. For example, the roll-out in Glasgow will take place in eight months’ time, which is not far away, and I am not convinced that the public fully understand what is coming to them, especially those who have already made spending decisions or who are locked into leases or contracts for small vans or vehicles. Do they know where or when they will be able to enter LEZs? Do they know the repercussions of doing so? Communication on that issue is vital, but I am not convinced that we are there yet.

The Government is doing some good work—there is no point in denying that. The introduction of electrification on our train network is welcome, given that the class 385s will see the replacement of diesel engines. It is also welcome that some new Caledonian MacBrayne hybrid ferries are coming through the system, although there are 28 routes in operation. Yes, minibuses are cleaner and greener in our cities, but that is not the case everywhere; and, yes, many new aircraft are lighter and use less fuel. However, as has been mentioned, at the current rate of progress it will take Scotland 239 years to reach its target of 10 per cent of journeys being taken by bike—a fact that the committee noted.

Promoting active travel helps our health and economy, but it also helps us to meet our climate change targets. Improving transport options can go hand in hand with achieving our environmental ambitions. No single policy instrument will fix the problems that we face with air pollution, but it is vital that the Scottish Government is entirely focused on improving air quality and that it does so in a deliverable and reasonable way. If it does that, it will have my support and the support of the Conservatives.