Breathing safe air is about as fundamental as a human right can be. It is a disgrace that on average 79 people die prematurely each day in Britain from particulate pollution and that NO 2 limits for a whole year have been breached in just a few days in several London streets (“Shock figures to reveal deadly toll of global air pollution”, News).

The situation requires urgent action. Diesel fuel is the worst offender for both these pollutants, so we need to impose a tax on the sale of new diesel vehicles, high enough to ensure that very few people will choose to buy diesel cars in future.

We also need to cut down on traffic by pedestrianising town and city centres, and suburban and village high streets, as far as possible, and bringing London-style congestion charges to many other cities.

The money raised could pay for more cyclepaths and cheaper public transport. As well as reducing air pollution, these measures would reduce noise and make these central communal areas safer and more pleasant.

Richard Mountford

Tonbridge

Kent

Last March, the supreme court required the government to produce an action plan, but nothing much has been forthcoming apart from extending low-emission zones. Laboratory measurements of pollution from cars bear so little relationship to emissions on the road that some cars emit more pollution than lorries, so it is hardly surprising that banning lorries from city centres has proved ineffective. Furthermore, studies on children’s lung function published in the Lancet recently have demonstrated that the government’s low-emission strategy is of no benefit to children’s health, so why does it insist on pursuing a failed policy?

The only rational response is to stop producing diesel cars and to limit access to city centres for all diesel-powered vehicles. Instead, London’s mayor, Boris Johnson, capitulated over emissions from old diesel taxis under pressure from London cabbies.

Dr Robin Russell-Jones

Former chair

Campaign for Lead-Free Air

Stoke Poges

Bucks

Investing in clean air will save us money – both now and in the future. The Conservative austerity programme starves local councils of funds while we continue expanding our roads, thus wasting millions on increasing air pollution. New investment should cut air pollution instead through backing pedestrian and cycle schemes. This will save the government money three times over. First, it will cut air pollution, a major killer in the UK. Second, it will lead to healthier lives in general, reducing costs to the NHS – and help us shift to more sustainable living into the bargain. But third, the savings will also be seen in the initial investment made, as there is typically a far better return on investment in walking, cycling and local public transport in the first place than on the new road schemes and HS2 that dominate our transport investment.

Dr Rupert Read

Chair, Green House thinktank

Norwich

While your piece on the appalling impact of air pollution is very welcome, the refusal by government to act is unsurprising. Tackling air pollution from traffic will mean radical changes to our exploitative and destructive economy, which would be unacceptable to corporations and their friends in government. It would also need significant changes to the way we live our lives, lives that seem to be based on a right to drive and fly.

We cannot continue to use the air as a communal sewer and expect there to be no impact. The time is ripe for a concerted campaign of action to stop 52,500 people being killed each year in this country.

Stuart Jeffery

Co-chair, Kent Greens

Maidstone