Air pollution is an urban issue Air quality tends to be worse in cities than elsewhere in the country and is the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK, causing an estimated...
While the decision to extend London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) may be politically difficult, it is both timely and necessary.
Today, London is extending the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which up until now charged the most polluting vehicles in the centre of the city. The extension will create a single larger zone (about 18 times bigger than the current one) including a number of residential areas.
Here are four reasons why this is a good thing – and why other cities should follow suit.
Across the UK, toxic air is the cause of an estimated 40,000 deaths a year. Cities are particularly affected by poor air quality: about 14,000 deaths are caused by fine particulate matter (PM2.5) alone. And the past eighteen months have reminded us of the danger of toxic air- with research showing that exposure to air pollution can increase the risk of hospitalisation and death from Covid-19.
London is one of the cities that’s affected the most, both in absolute and relative terms, with more than one in 16 deaths caused by air pollution. That’s more than 25 times the national rate of deaths from traffic accidents.
Some argue that the expansion of the ULEZ is unfair because it will disproportionately impact lower-income households who cannot afford cleaner vehicles. But the ‘fairness argument’ should be reversed: data shows that in the UK, the most polluted areas are disproportionately poorer, as low-income households are more likely to live near a busy, polluted road and therefore to suffer from the adverse effect of toxic air (while being less likely to own a car).
This is particularly true in the capital. Average NO2 concentration are 25 per cent higher in the poorest neighbourhoods, many of which are now within the new ULEZ boundaries. So, while it is true that this policy should come with support for those who can’t simply ditch their old, polluting car, social justice should not be used as a reason to oppose it.
Source: IMD, MHCLG (2019); background mapping for local authorities, Defra (2019).
It is not just that we know what the problem is. We also know that the solutions out there work.
In just a few years of existence of the scheme (the ULEZ was first introduced in 2019 and its predecessor, the T-charge, in 2017), NO2 concentrations dropped by 44 per cent in the central zone. A much smaller reduction (13 per cent) was observed in roadside sites in Inner London, where a number of roads are still above legal limits- hence the need for an expansion. If the new ULEZ turns out to be as successful, then many more people will breathe cleaner air.
Our research published last December showed that the pandemic does not lessen the need to act on air pollution. Quite the opposite: while air quality briefly improved back in April 2020, by September last year pollution bounced back in a large majority of cities. And in some cities, like Bournemouth or Portsmouth, it was worse, despite the fact that the economy had only partially reopened. This is because many people have jumped back on their car quicker than they have on the bus or the tube.
Data available at the national level shows that car usage was back nearly 95 per cent of its pre-pandemic level last week, while public transport was still 30 per cent down. In many places, this means more congestion: according to Tomtom data, traffic levels are higher than what they were two years ago in a number of cities including Cardiff, Sheffield and Hull. In Manchester, for instance, traffic on weekends in the past couple of months was up to 60 per cent higher than in 2019.
Source: DfT, 2021
The ULEZ expansion comes at the right time, as it is likely to incentivise more people to leave their car behind and ensure that many of these changes in behaviours do not turn permanent. London is not the only city anymore: Birmingham City Council should also be praised for introducing its charging Clean Air Zone last July, and more recently for announcing plans for a ‘supersized low-traffic neighbourhood’ which closes roads to traffic and facilitates public transport and active travel. Many other cities have dragged their feet for too long on this matter, particularly when it comes to charging private cars. None of these decisions are politically easy- but ignoring them could be very costly, too.
Air pollution is an urban issue Air quality tends to be worse in cities than elsewhere in the country and is the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK, causing an estimated...
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