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Matthew Pencharz: London may be Europe’s first zero-emission city

Since 2008 the number of Londoners living in areas where the air does not meet EU regulations has halved
Boris Johnson: "The policy should be clearly put to the people of London"
Matthew Pencharz
21 February 2014

So the European Commission has begun legal action against the UK for our failure to meet limits on excessive levels of air pollution, in this case nitrogen dioxide. London, along with other urban centres across the UK, carries much of that burden. We are not alone — 20 other member states also missed their targets. And yet reading the headlines you’d be forgiven for thinking we either don’t care, haven’t done anything, or aren’t planning to start now. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The nitrogen-dioxide issue matters a great deal. We simply must do more. But that is precisely why the Mayor continues to lead the world in innovative actions to improve London’s air. We are working towards switching existing car clubs to electric vehicles as they have in Paris; we have already set an age limit for taxis to get the oldest and most polluting off the road; and the new Routemaster bus is the cleanest on the planet. Today, London is one of only a handful of global cities to have both a congestion charge and a Low Emission Zone.

Since 2008 the number of Londoners living in areas where the air does not meet EU regulations has halved, and London now meets legal limits for eight out of nine EU regulated pollutants, whereas many other European cities do not. But we recognise we have to go further in improving London’s air quality.

So by 2020 that means London will be an Ultra-Low Emission Zone, where vehicles are as close to zero emission as possible. To support this, all newly licensed taxis from 2018 will have to be zero emission capable, with the first of these on our streets from 2015. And we are investing the thick end of a billion pounds in cycling infrastructure and safety — helping to drive Londoners from the car to the bike.

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Despite these efforts the commission is pressing ahead with its legal challenge to the UK. Given that we have done more to address this problem than any other city, the decision is hugely disappointing.

The UK is one of only nine member states that actually meet all the legal requirements for tiny dangerous particles or PM10. Given that London is by far the largest city in Europe, that’s a considerable achievement and reflects the progress we have made.

Frustratingly, part of the reason that the UK doesn’t meet EU legal limits on NO2 revolves around policy choices made by the commission itself. Its Euro engine standards, which all cars manufactured in Europe must meet, have failed to reduce pollution emissions as expected and don’t work properly in urban areas. Today we have 45 million more polluting vehicles on Europe’s roads, in part because of the commission’s support for diesel.

The commission must take action now to accelerate the roll-out of the next generation of cleaner vehicles and back the development and uptake of new ultra-low emission technologies.

The Mayor has set out his vision for a zero-emission future for London. Now is the time for City Hall, the commission, Government and other partners to work together to deliver that future. If we do, we can have the best air quality of any major city in the world.

Matthew Pencharz is the Mayor of London’s Senior Adviser for Energy and the Environment