London joins major cities in move to tackle air pollution

Transport of London could approve plans to double funding for clean air in the capital city adding the UK capital to a list of cities pledging to clean up dangerous nitrogen dioxide levels in their zones.

---

On the same week that French authorities decided to restrict vehicle use in Paris by imposing alternating traffic in the French capital and its suburbs after air pollution after reached high levels in the region, the Mayor of London has also stepped up its plans to reduce alarming rates of air pollution in the city.

On the 6th of December, Parisians found that only cars with even number plates, electric or hybrid vehicles or vehicles with more than three people on board were allowed to drive in the area, while public transport was free for the entire day. This decision came after the environmental body responsible for monitoring air quality levels in the region, the Airparif Association, detected an elevated pollution index in the French capital and the suburbs. Other cities like Madrid have also had to adopt similar measures as a result of a failure to control air pollution and worrying levels of Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) that almost doubled World Health Organisation guidelines. Athens and Mexico City followed Paris and Madrid with a pledge to ban diesel cars in their cities by 2025. London however, has yet to make this stance.

With London standing as one of the most polluted cities in the UK, breaching EU standards on NO2 and amid concern of the elevated link between air pollution and premature deaths in the city, London mayor Sadiq Khan has confirmed plans to double funding to clean up the capital’s air. A meeting scheduled at Transport for London could approve and upgrade of the £425m committed under former mayor Boris Johnson up to £875m. Part of this budget will be spent cleaning up Transport of London’s bus fleet, compensating and encouraging taxi drivers to switch from older black cabs to newer hydrogen or battery run vehicles, cutting the numbers of buses in high NO2 zones like Oxford Street, or on neighbourhood schemes to tackle pollution hotspots in the suburbs.

The move comes after the introduction of “ultra low emissions zones” in the city and an extra £12.50 obligatory payment for owners of older diesel cars who wish to enter the zone, and has been welcomed by campaigners who are pleased to see that measures are being taken to ensure that key capital cities are working on cleaning up the air and with hope that Khan will soon join the pledge to ban diesel cars altogether.