Cleaner Air Campaign 2026
Climate Action Newcastle starts 2026 with bold plans to protect recent wins and achieve more improvements for local people, wildlife and the planet. Phase 1 tackles the uncomfortable truth about woodstoves, followed by three other vital clean air targets: find out here how you can turn these into reality for our city.
“Great suggestions and practical tips help everyone to make a difference through small changes to things, such as the way we travel, shop and heat our homes. Doing just one thing, from turning your car engine off when you’re parked up to choosing to walk or cycle or switching to a green home energy supplier, can all add up.”
- Councillor Jane Byrne, cabinet member for connected, clean city, Newcastle City Council.
Why Does Air Quality Matter?
Air pollution puts us all at risk – one breath at a time. It’s the biggest environmental risk each of us faces every day. If we could SEE it, we’d probably have tackled it far sooner. But there’s growing awareness – and much more information, so we can make a difference.
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In the UK alone, air pollution is linked to up to 43,000 deaths each year due to its health impacts [1], and it is also contributing to a dramatic decline in UK wildlife [2].
Wood-Burning Stoves
Wood-burning is now one of the biggest sources of harmful air pollution in the UK. In Newcastle most people who burn wood do so by choice, not necessity, often without realising the impact on their own health, their neighbours, and the city’s air.
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Read our blog to find more information about the impact of wood-burning stoves, how you can heat your home sustainably, and what you can do if you already have a wood-burning stove.
Our Previous Cleaner Air Campaigning
The Campaign
January 2023 saw the arrival of traffic tolls to clean up air in the centre of Newcastle and further rollout of measures to improve air safety near schools, for pupils and adults. Climate Action Newcastle welcomed this overdue progress, but much more was urgently needed – so in 2023 we launched our Cleaner Air campaign.​
Walk and Wheels
to celebrate the start of Newcastle's Clean Air Zone CAN arranged a ‘Walk and Wheels’ event alongside the Ride for Their Lives (RFTL) group . More than two dozen families and doctors took part, representing Mums for Lungs and Streetlife. Find more info on the zone here.
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5 Ways to Cleaner Air
We originally created our '30 Ways to Cleaner Air Guide', now a '5 Ways to Cleaner Air Guide', to give you a wide selections of options to play your part. We all lead different lives, and all make our contributions in different ways. You could pick one action or try a different one every day!
Newcastle's Clean Air Zone (CAZ)
Newcastle's CAZ was launched in January 2023 to improve air quality to reduce the amount of older, more polluting vehicles.​
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Since then, air quality in Newcastle has seen a significant improvement, with data for 2024 showing that average levels of nitrogen dioxide across Newcastle had reduced by 9% since 2023 [3].​
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However, 2024 data also shows that pollution levels in specific areas in the city centre and Heaton continue to exceed legal limits despite improvements at both locations since 2023 [3]. Further action, alongside the CAZ, will be required to tackle these remaining pollution hotspots and ensure the city meets air quality standards in every neighbourhood.