Brussels parents start petition for cleaner air

A group of concerned parents and asthma advocates has started a petition to demand that the Brussels government do more to improve air quality in the city, reports brusselnieuws.be. The group supports the introduction of road pricing in order to reduce traffic emissions, among other proposed solutions.  

According to the group, the Brussels Air-Climate-Energy Plan does not go far enough, and the air in Brussels continues to be unhealthy. With an aim to reduce emissions in Brussels by 30% by 2025, the Plan contains 59 concrete measures and 124 actions, including more sustainable purchasing policies and further development of the city's public transport network.

But according to the group of concerned parents and asthma advocates, the Plan does not go far enough. "It is low priority and unclear," initiator Karin De Schepper told brusselnieuws.be. "We would rather have a few good measures than many random ones. We fear that the objectives of the Plan - as it is now - will not be met." 

The group has therefore launched the petition Clean Air BXL to request that the Brussels government carry out the five most effective measures by 2018. It advocates, among other things, an accelerated introduction of the road pricing scheme for cars.

The group intends to hand over the collected signatures to the Brussels government during the public inquiry into the Air-Climate-Energy Plan on 31 July.