NOTE: By submitting this form and registering with us, you are providing us with permission to store your personal data and the record of your registration. In addition, registration with the Medical Independent includes granting consent for the delivery of that additional professional content and targeted ads, and the cookies required to deliver same. View our Privacy Policy and Cookie Notice for further details.
By
Dr Ola Løkken Nordrum, Operations Officer, Irish Doctors for the Environment
- 13th Jul 2025
Image: iStock.com/hocus-focus
I envision a future where hospitals are at the heart of ultra-low emission zones
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently hosted its Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health, where one of the key objectives was to “mobilise, value, and empower health professionals to ‘prescribe’ clean air for health”.
The global burden of disease from air pollution is enormous. Annually, it causes millions of deaths and countless lost years of healthy lives. The negative health impacts are comparable to those of smoking.
Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) – a pollutant emitted when petrol or diesel is burned in internal combustion engines – is not produced by people walking or cycling, but by our car-centric transport system. Yet even drivers are not shielded from air pollution inside their vehicles. This affects us all.
Since starting my new job at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, in January, I’ve been using a tool, Air Aware Labs, through my Strava app, to monitor air quality along my commute by bicycle.
It is time for real, tangible action to improve air quality
The average NO₂ level has been around 40µg/m³, well above the WHO 24-hour target of 25µg/m³. These levels are a serious reminder that air pollution, driven largely by fossil fuel emissions, is an almost ever-present health hazard. The methodology used by Air Aware Labs is crude and far from perfect, but the results are stark.
Hospitals
My commute is not unique, but it feels fundamentally wrong that cycling to an Irish hospital is not only dangerous – due to poor-quality or lack of active transport infrastructure – but also harmful because of air pollution levels. It is an unacceptable cost of doing the right thing – choosing to cycle, not drive.
When I started working at Beaumont Hospital, I was automatically given a parking tag for free parking. Accessing the bike shed, however, required a bit more effort to figure out. Hospitals should be beacons of healthy commutes, but as it is, they are not.
In 2024, the National Transport Authority’s (NTA) active travel allocations funded only three projects directly involving hospitals, with a modest combined budget of just €270,000. Despite available funding, Irish hospitals are failing to take advantage of these opportunities, while at the same time generating millions annually from car parking. It is a paradox that hospitals – institutions dedicated to health – neglect funding that could promote active travel and cleaner air, while profiting from car dependency. Imagine if we pooled NTA funding with parking revenue to improve active and public transport, air quality, and physical and mental health. It would be a breath of fresh air.
Ultra-low emission zone
We have the solutions. The results from the expansion of the ultra-low emission zone in London are remarkable. Since the controversial expansion, levels of NO₂ have decreased by 27 per cent across all of London. There is nothing controversial about clean air. We could copy the Dutch, who provide a tax-free commuting allowance of €0.19 per km per bicycle. If coupled with congestion charges, we could provide people with both a carrot and a stick.
Hospitals should provide staff, patients, and visitors with safe secure bike parking, set up bike hubs and bike sharing schemes, and provide easily accessible changing and shower facilities to all staff.
Cycling to work, parking it securely, having a shower, and drying your wet gear should be made convenient and hassle-free. It should be a given, not the exception.
I envision a future where hospitals are at the heart of ultra-low emission zones, surrounded by world-class active travel infrastructure and lush greenery, not car parks. A future where hospitals breathe clean air, not exhaust fumes.
Clean air should not be a privilege. It should be a given. It is time for real, tangible action to improve air quality so that we healthcare professionals can ‘prescribe’ clean air for all.
Remember: There is no safe level of air pollution.
IDE challenges Climate Change Advisory Council’s EV grant call
Last month, the Climate Change Advisory Council’s annual review of the transport sector found it required urgent Government intervention to support sustained emissions reductions.
The Council stated that an increase in new battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations and the achievement of targets for BEV adoption under the Climate Action Plan must be realised.
To drive this forward, the Council recommended that grants of up to €10,000 (for BEVs worth less than €35,000) are provided for lower income households, particularly in areas with limited access to public transport.
However, the Irish Doctors for the Environment (IDE) has questioned this recommendation.
“We need to rethink the future of transport, not just how we fuel our cars,” it stated.
“The Climate Advisory Council’s call for an additional €10,000 EV grant for low-income households is well intentioned, but it entirely ignores the main problem of our unsustainable, dysfunctional transport system: Car journeys.”
“Yes, we need a just transition. Yes, all new cars should be electric. But the problem isn’t what we drive. It’s how much we drive, and why we keep designing our country around it.”
The IDE said it was important not to push forward policies which “deepen car dependency”.
“We should be funding alternatives: World-class cycle lanes, pedestrian infrastructure, frequent and reliable buses, a metro system for Dublin, light rail systems for Cork, Galway, and Limerick, and clean, high-capacity rail. We need to design for people, not traffic.”
The IDE pointed out that 70 per cent of journeys in Ireland are still made by car and only 2 per cent by bicycle.
“We’re not only facing a climate crisis, but a public health crisis, an inactivity epidemic, and growing social isolation,” according to the statement.
“Children can’t safely walk or cycle to school. Our air is polluted. And EVs, while cleaner, still contribute to sprawl, local air pollution, inactivity, and environmental degradation.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.