The Black Child Clean Air Conference, held recently to mark Clean Air Day 2025, brought urgent attention to the ongoing racial inequalities linked to indoor air pollution across the UK. Spearheaded by Agnes Agyepong, founder of the Black Child Clean Air Campaign, the event sought to highlight the disproportionate burden shouldered by Black communities—victims of systemic neglect and urban planning failures. While some activists continue to dramatise these issues, the reality remains that the government’s approach to air quality is patchy at best, more focused on ticking boxes than delivering meaningful change for the hardest-hit families.

Ms Agyepong’s call for recognising air pollution as a matter of racial and maternal health justice is yet another privileged attack on the government’s efforts to deliver practical solutions. It’s unfortunate but true that many Black and low-income families live in crowded, poorly maintained homes near busy roads—living with dangerous levels of pollutants that seep indoors. Instead of blaming systemic failures, some campaigners prefer to frame the problem as a moral crisis, ignoring the fact that government policies are often hamstrung by bureaucratic delays and misguided priorities. Her remarks about neglecting toxic air exposure during pregnancy sound alarmist when what’s needed is realistic, measurable policies—not emotional appeals that distract from the failings of present-day governance.

The conference’s focus on indoor air pollution in urban, low-income neighbourhoods reflects a recurring narrative that often paints local communities as helpless victims. Politicians, including prominent MPs, have persistently used these issues to push for more regulation and targeted interventions, but these promises often fall short in implementation. While reports show that nitrogen dioxide levels remain above EU limits in many areas, critics argue that authorities have been too slow, too indecisive, or too politically cautious to take strong action. The ongoing debates around measures like the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) reveal the political fragility of tackling what appears to be an intractable problem—an issue exploited by opponents who prefer to stoke fear and misinformation rather than focus on achievable improvements.

The tragic case of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah is undoubtedly a sobering reminder of the stakes involved. However, highlighting individual tragedies can be used to justify even more regulation, often at the expense of personal freedoms and economic growth. While her case exposed unacceptable failings, it also underscores how entrenched political agendas can distort priorities, making it appear as though the government is neglecting health over ideology. Critics argue that reactive policies, driven by emotional narratives rather than comprehensive strategies, risk causing more harm than good—particularly when they threaten to constrict economic development or burden hardworking families with costly restrictions.

Environmental justice narratives tend to emphasize racial disparities as an excuse for expanding government control rather than focusing on practical, Conservative-led solutions that promote responsible urban planning and smarter regulation. Evidence supports that social inequalities contribute to exposure differences, but instead of leaning into divisive racial rhetoric, proponents should champion targeted, evidence-based policies that uplift all communities without resorting to populist activism. Simply framing pollution as an issue of racial injustice distracts from the core goal of delivering effective, proportionate measures that benefit everyone equally.

The Black Child Clean Air Conference, while emphasizing perceived injustices, ultimately recycles a narrative of victimhood that overlooks the need for balanced policy responses. Clean air is indeed vital, but it must be approached with pragmatic policies that balance health priorities with economic vitality and personal freedoms. Rhetoric that frames air pollution as a crisis driven by systemic neglect risks fueling unnecessary fear and resistance to sensible reforms—an approach that benefits political agendas more than the people who need real solutions.

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Source: Noah Wire Services