Lunchtime 101: Air Pollution
59 minutes | Recorded on 20 January 2026
Why is air pollution still a health risk in Scotland? And what can we do about it? In this Lunchtime 101, we hear from medical experts, environmental advocates, and community campaigners on how we can guarantee our right to clean air.
Why you should know about air pollution
Air quality in Scotland has improved in recent years, but pollution from transport, industry, and domestic heating and cooking remains a significant contributor to climate change and a public health risk.
Air pollution is the largest environmental health risk in Europe. Recent research from the Royal College of Physicians (2025) warns that air pollution affects almost every organ in the human body and will contribute to the equivalent of 30,000 deaths in the UK this year alone. Air quality and climate change are intrinsically linked as they both arise from broadly the same sources, with the release of greenhouse gases and aerosols contributing to changing climate and weather patterns.
Rapid changes are needed to guarantee our right to clean air, through cutting the use of polluting vehicles, slashing industrial and business emissions, and avoiding wood burning in our homes. Our government must do more to enforce clean air laws, strengthen air quality standards, and enact structural changes in our economy to eliminate harmful emissions at source.
Guest speakers:
- Prof Jill Belch, co-chair of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh’s working group on air pollution.
- Mandy Cairns and Mike Hinford from Communities Against Woodsmoke
- Dr Malcolm White, clean air specialist at Global Action Plan
