A politician turned environmentalist

A pollution is not a severe problem only in India (read New Delhi) but it appears this is a global issue, in some measure or the other. Like Delhi and other Indian cities with bad air quality, it has been recognized as a severe risk for the public health. Politician apathy or lack of awareness, whatever you may call it, unfortunately, air pollution has not been taken with the seriousness it deserves. Yes, in India, the Supreme Court issued orders during Diwali and AAP CM Arvind Kerjiwal did try oddeven for reducing cars on the roads but pollution persists.

Most Indian cities are facing this menace which is part of the climate change (CC) impacts.

The author of the book is 2nd time Mayor of one of the busiest and modern capitals of the world London. Sadiq Khan, first elected as Mayor in 2016 became a green crusader by accident. At the age of 43, Khan was diagnosed with adult-onset asthma caused by the polluted London air he had been breathing for decades. But he was completely unaware of the reason.

What is important, however, is that the politician, a former MP, when he decided to run the famous London marathon, he realised two things: One he was a patient and second, the British capital’s air was highly polluted and he needed to act sternly being its Mayor. The year was 2014; he was not the Mayor until then. A resident of Tooting in South London, Khan, a sports lover, decided to concentrate on urban politics and chose London as his constituency and became Mayor two years later. He soon turned a passionate advocate for environment. He picked up the gauntlet and began taking steps to reduce air pollution and climate change after developing asthma while training for 2014 London Marathon. Since then he made a personal mission to make London greener.

This may look like a fairy-tale but that is what politicians abroad normally do and that is what we in India
seldom experience.

Sadiq Khan feels that environmental actions can be blown off the course but they must be brought back by policy makers. “ It can be done through building coalitions across political spectrum, putting social justice at the heart of green politics or showing climate crisis as health crisis too”, he has written.

After he was diagnosed as asthmatic, Khan felt bad. He says: “I was not happy about my newfound identity as an asthma patient. I did not like to recognize that I was ‘vulnerable’; my asthma felt like a sign of weakness. To this day, there are times when it gets so bad I struggle to breathe. A mayoral trip to Delhi in 2017 was made almost impossible due to the terrible-quality air’’. He had to reschedule his media interactions as he could barely speak in Delhi. Indian capital was that bad!

Incidentally, Delhi also tried many things to deal with capital’s worst air quality but with limited success, like what is mentioned above.

I chose this book, purchased in London recently, for review in ‘Urban Update’ as I am completely overawed by the honesty of the politician. Look at this: ‘’My diagnosis made me think about many issues I had never really considered. Had the air we breathed always been this bad? How many people were affected? Was air pollution linked to climate change? And, if so, would cleaning up London’s air tackle the climate crisis too? ’’

Author does not hide his ignorance and adds further: ‘climate was never an issue for ‘today’ it was always for ‘tomorrow’ and without thinking of its impact, I as an MP, had voted for a new third runway at the Heathrow Airport’.

He further narrates: In my first few months in office as Mayor, we collected ever more damning evidence about the scale of air quality crisis; evidence that the previous administration could have gathered, but hadn’t. During the Saharan Dust episode of 2014, in which southern England was covered by a film of red dust blown over from the Sahara Desert, the London ambulance service reported a 14% rise in emergency 999 calls for patients with respiratory issues, and a higher than normal volume of calls from people with breathing difficulties, asthma and heart problems.’’ Schools were worst affected and had to be closed.

Khan strongly opines that environmental issues can be effectively addressed by Mayors rather than the national governments. He, as chair of the C40, (a climate leadership group with 96 cities on it was founded in 2005), felt that mayors could harness their powers to change the world. He has successfully made London as the first ‘National Parks City’ and made many new cycle lanes. You see many cyclists peddling their way in market places. It is also because the roads are safer and people obey traffic rules very-very strictly. Visiting the national parks is an entirely amazing experience for any outsider. Open spaces, huge trees and waterbodies make great carbon sinks in a city bustling with thousands of vehicles. His famous scheme ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) for reducing vehicular emissions received huge response from Londoners. When he pledged to expand the area in North and South Circular roads, he won the 2nd term with a record margin in 2021. This rarely happens but local residents saw a point in what Khan was arguing… he had already made it clear that it was a health crisis and that convinced the Londoners quiet well. Wish India also had such dynamic Mayors, driven by passion for environment conservation in many more cities than what we see today.