The Mayor’s ULEZ expansion, although welcomed, will not bring air pollution in London within new World Heath Organisation (WHO) guidelines, argues Zack Polanski.
The Mayor targeted under 40 micro grammes per meter cubed for Nitrogen Dioxide with the ULEZ and the expansion – a Government target for air pollution limits which came from the WHO 2005 guidelines.
The ULEZ expansion is expected by the Mayor to take over nine out of ten roads in London below the 40 micro grammes per metre cubed limit, but current plans will not take London’s air within new guidelines for Nitrogen Dioxide to be under 10 micro grammes per meter cubed.
Green Party London Assembly Member Zack Polanski said:
Air in London has been too toxic for too long.
"The Mayor said today that his ULEZ Expansion would still leave one in ten of London’s roads above legal limits for nitrogen dioxide.
"The World Health Organisation has underlined the need to act quickly with new guidelines on air pollution that are lower than the existing legal limits.
"Reaching these new lower limits requires serious and concerted action, which means we must reduce traffic in London – clean air doesn’t just mean changing the vehicles we use; it means changing the way we get around our city.
"The ULEZ sets London on the right path, but we need to stop new road building and set out a plan to reduce traffic and the pollution from it.
"The Mayor is still building the Silvertown Road Tunnel, which will pollute Londoners living near that urban motorway, and even with the ULEZ expansion, we know that there will be nearly one in ten roads still above legal limits.
Notes to editors
The Mayor said in response to the question from Zack Polanski AM “When ULEZ expands to the north and south circular roads, later this month, we expect to be able to achieve further reductions in pollution across London, aiming for more than 90% of London's roads to meet legal limits this year.” Mayor's Question Time
Air pollution in London has been linked to up to 9,400 extra deaths per year https://www.londonair.org.uk/LondonAir/General/research.aspx
The new World Health Organisation limits were released last month, and update guidance on outdoor air pollution that was previously issued in 2005 after years of new scientific investigation. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ambient-(outdoor)-air-quality-and-health