City of London group aims to tackle air quality issues

The City of London Corporation is appealing for businesses to curb their energy emissions in a collective effort to improve air quality.

Members of the organisation have suggested that 4,000 premature deaths are caused each year due to people breathing in pollutants.

London remains one of the worst affected areas in Europe and the group has called on firms in the business district to reassess how much energy they use to heat and cool their buildings.

The CityAir campaign is also aimed at encouraging employees to use more environmentally-friendly means of getting to work, as emissions from transport contribute a great deal to the levels of pollution seen across the city.

Director of public health for the City of London Dr Leslie Moutford said: "The poor air quality experienced in London before Easter should remind us that air pollution is still a very real problem."

Recently, the European Commission announced it would take action against France, as the air in some parts of the country - including Marseille and Paris - were deemed to be in breach of EU pollution laws.

Posted by Joseph Hutton