Air pollution in the capital could have contributed to the deaths of an estimated 3,000 Londoners a year, which the mayor should tackle by investing in bio-fuel for all public transport, according to a new report.
The London Assembly environment committee report states the city’s air quality is among the worst in the country, and falls well short of targets set out by the European Union. It adds that Boris Johnson should reduce the older, diesel fleet, and fit particulate filters to reduce emissions by up to 90%.
During the investigation, experts examined the mayor’s policies to determine if they would improve London’s air quality sufficiently to meet the EU targets. Among their recommendations is a repeated call for targeted low-emission zones (LEZ) to tackle road traffic, which remains the ‘largest source of air pollution’.
London Assembly members passed a motion earlier in the year calling on Johnson to proceed with plans for the third stage of the LEZ, in order to avoid landing taxpayers with a £300M EU fine (Surveyor, 26 March). The mayor postponed the third phase in February, citing the ‘detrimental impact it would have on London’s small businesses’ (Surveyor, 5 February).
But City Hall lawyers revealed this week that the Government has the power to reverse this decision, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it would look forward to receiving the mayor’s first draft of an updated air quality strategy in the summer. ‘We would expect the mayor to put in place other measures to meet air quality limit values if, after consultation, the third phase of the low-emission zone is not implemented,’ a spokesman said.
Regulation 30(2) of the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2007 would allow the secretary of state, Hilary Benn, to direct the mayor to implement alternative measures to meet the air quality limits set out in the EU Directive.
The London Assembly report also advises Johnson to adopt technological solutions, such as electronic information panels in public areas to relay real-time pollution levels. This would ‘give Londoners more information about air pollution levels in their area, and enable the mayor to monitor progress against legal targets’.
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