14 May 2021
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2 min read
Credit: Mayor of London's Office
Newly re-elected Mayor of London promises to policies to improve air and tackle climate crisis at heart of second term
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has today recommitted to expanding the capital's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) this October, as part of a wide-ranging new programme designed to make a 'green recovery' from the pandemic the centrepiece of his second term.
The Mayor's Office said the expanded ULEZ will cover an area 18 times larger than the central London Ultra Low Emission Zone and will affect older, more polluting vehicles that do not comply with strict emission standards. Although around 80 per cent of cars are already thought to be compliant with the rules, it is estimated that 100,000 cars, 35,000 vans, and 3,000 lorries could be affected by the expanded zone and tighter standards every day.
The expansion of the ULEZ builds on the success of the original zone in central London, which was introduced in April 2019 and has helped nearly half roadside concentrations of nitrogen dioxide.
The Mayor's Office said that while significant progress has been made, with a substantial reduction in the number of Londoners living in areas exceeding legal limits for NO2, tens of thousands of Londoners still breathe illegally polluted air and 99 per cent of Londoners live in areas exceeding the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended guidelines for PM2.5, which are much tighter than the legal standards.
The expansion of the ULEZ is designed to help deliver on goals to meet the more stringent health-driven WHO guidelines for toxic particulate pollution by 2030. It is accompanied by on-going efforts to slash emissions from London's bus and taxi fleet.
"I pledge to be the greenest Mayor London's ever had with a mandate from Londoners to put the environment and climate policies at the heart of my second term in office," Khan said. "Today I am reaffirming my commitment to speed up the cleaning of London's toxic air.
"In central London, the Ultra Low Emission Zone has already helped cut toxic roadside nitrogen dioxide pollution by nearly half and led to reductions that are five times greater than the national average. But pollution isn't just a central London problem, which is why expanding the ULEZ later this year will benefit Londoners across the whole of the city and is a crucial step in London's green recovery. There is no time to waste. We know pollution hits the poorest Londoners the hardest which is why I'm doing everything I can to improve the health for all Londoners."
The move was welcomed by Jemima Hartshorn, Founder of Mums for Lungs, who said the group had campaigned for an expansion of the ULEZ for over three years now. "The ULEZ in central London has really reduced NO2-pollution across the area, and more children will benefit from ULEZ expansion," she said. "But more is needed to ensure that London meets World Health Organisation guidelines, so we call on the Mayor, national government, councils and business to work together to ensure breathing no longer harms the health of London's children."
