​The Oxfordshire Clean Air Charter​

County, City and District Councils of Oxfordshire

The Oxfordshire Clean Air Charter sets out the steps that should be taken to make Oxfordshire a clean air county. It has been developed by Oxford Friends of the Earth with support from several other organisations. Any organisation of individual can sigh and endorse the Charter. CLICK HERE to read the Oxfordshire Clean Air Charter.

Our ambition for change is to make Oxfordshire a clean-air county, meaning that:
• All areas should be at ‘safe’ levels (by World Health Organisation standards) by the end of 2020*
• Air pollution-related mortality should fall by at least 50% by 2030

The Charter calls upon the County, City and District Councils to agree and implement policies on the following issues:

  • Control polluting vehicles
  • Promote a long-term shift from car use to more sustainable forms of transport
  • Create safe streets for walking and cycling
  • Invest in improving public transport across the county
There are 10 key points within these four areas within the Charter.


Regarding air pollution, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has set internationally agreed limits available here. Small particulate pollution have health impacts even at very low concentrations – indeed no threshold has been identified below which no damage to health is observed. Therefore, the WHO 2005 guideline limits aimed to achieve the lowest concentrations of PM possible (WHO website, 2018).

Sign on to the campaign here and visit www.cleanairoxfordshire.org for more information!


To: County, City and District Councils of Oxfordshire
From: [Your Name]

I am signing this petition because I support the Oxfordshire Clean Air Charter developed by Oxford Friends of the Earth. I want Oxfordshire to be a ‘clean air county’ with all areas at safe levels by the end of 2020. (By ‘safe’ I mean all areas meeting World Health Organisation limits).

I want to see the County, City and District Councils acting to:

* Control polluting vehicles

* Decrease car and other vehicle journeys as a percentage of total journeys

* Create safe streets for walking and cycling

* Invest in improving rail and bus public transport across the county

There’s more about how this can happen at www.cleanairoxfordshire.org.

Your council has talked a lot about air pollution. We want to see some action.