Jemima Hartshorn (pictured on far left) is co-founder of Mums for Lungs. She was born in London and raised in Hamburg, Germany. She returned to London for an LLM degree in human rights and good governance. She is a human rights lawyer and previously worked as a public prosecutor.

Why do you fight for clean air?

I fight for clean air, because I want all children across the U.K., no matter where they live to grow up healthily and happy. Air pollution has been shown to result in stunted lung growth in children, cause cancer, diabetes, respiratory illnesses and has even been linked to mental health issues in teenagers. That is just wrong. Breathing is most essential for all of us, but in our current set-up with a high reliance on cars and enjoying comforting but often unnecessary woodburning, the air millions of us breathe is not actually safe to breathe.

Why is EDF’s work (inc. Breathe London) on clean air important to you personally?

I think it is really powerful to show how and especially why the air is so polluted. Only when policymakers and many of us understand that driving a road vehicle in London is the single biggest contributor to air that makes us sick, will change be demanded.

I am hopeful this new Global Clean Air initiative succeeds because it is enabling anyone to understand the what and how we all can clean up our shared air.

Why is EDF’s work on clean air important to you personally?

I think it is really powerful to show how and especially why the air is so polluted. Only when policymakers and many of us understand that driving a road vehicle in London is the single biggest contributor to air that makes us sick, will change be demanded.

I am hopeful this new Global Clean Air initiative succeeds because it is enabling anyone to understand the what and how we all can clean up our shared air.