Our manifesto
In 2021 all parties supported groundbreaking legislation to clean our air. For 2026, we have one ask – deliver on this promise by implementing the Environment (Air Quality and Soundscapes) (Wales) Act 2024.
Implementing this act would…
1. Reduce vehicle pollution
- Ensure all Welsh residents have access to regular, affordable and accessible public transport.
- Implement a national roll out of the school streets initiative, ensuring adequate access for disabled students and those needing to travel by taxi.
- Improve infrastructure to facilitate active travel to school where school streets are not feasible.
- Implement Clean Air Zones with careful consideration to economically disadvantaged groups and disabled people.
- Introduce sufficient penalties for vehicle idling.
2. Reduce industrial and rural pollution
- Develop industrial and rural strategies that seek to reduce the impact of air pollution.
- Ensure that industries and businesses consider sustainable transport for staff.
- Introduce a Workplace Parking Levy to discourage people driving to work.
- Introduce scrappage schemes to help businesses and farmers decarbonise vehicles.
3. Tackle domestic burning
- Ban the installation of new stoves in homes except in special circumstances.
- Phase out domestic wood burning in urban areas, assist rural residents to transition away from wood as a primary heating source, and support those in fuel poverty with fuel cost assistance.
- Roll out Smoke Control Areas (SCAs) nationwide with exemptions only for rural communities.
4. Increase awareness of air pollution
- Develop a series of behaviour change campaigns on sustainable transport, vehicle idling, domestic burning and the overall health dangers of indoor and outdoor air pollution and evaluate the impact.
- Use public health alerts so that people living in every part of Wales are aware of local pollution levels and how to minimise the impact on their health.
- The Welsh public sector should lead by example, supporting staff to make positive changes and reducing air pollution in vehicles and buildings.
5. Improve monitoring
- Establish a monitoring network utilising all local and national modelled and monitored data.
- Enable air pollution data to be open source and accessible to all.
- Fund the roll out of PM2.5 and NO2 monitors at all schools and NHS buildings and grant local authorities the power to close or divert roads when air pollution near schools exceeds limits.