Camden and Islington Green Parties demand the Ultra Low Emission Zone be extended and brought forward as Green Assembly Member Baroness Jenny Jones describes the 4,300 people in London a year who die prematurely due to air pollution “one of the biggest scandals of our age”
Smog in Canary Wharf. Photograph courtesy of Matthew Buck.
Today, Camden and Islington Green Parties issue a joint statement to demand that the London Mayor’s proposal for an Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) be extended geographically, brought forward and include an outright diesel ban in order to save lives in London’s over-polluted communities.
As part of the consultation, which opened for submissions today, The Green Party will be calling for the ULEZ to be extended beyond the current boundaries of the Congestion Charge zone to include other London boroughs including Camden and Islington. Currently the Congestion Charge area only covers a small part of the southern end of each borough. Restricting the ULEZ to just the current Congestion Charge zone only covers 7% of the main road network which looks set to be over the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) legal limit in 2020.
The Mayor of London is proposing that, in addition to the current Congestion Charge, there should be a levy of £12.50 on diesel vehicles entering London’s ULEZ from 2020 onwards. Over a quarter of cars are now diesel, but they account for 60% of NO2 emissions across London. The Green Party wants an outright diesel ban as this charge will not properly discourage these vehicles from entering the ULEZ and test results in city driving conditions show that even Euro 6 standard vehicles emit health-damaging particulate material and do not fulfil test track indications of emission reductions.
Also, The Green Party believes that initiating the ULEZ in 2020 is far too late and will be asking the Mayor to bring forward its implementation in order to help the 4,300 people a year in London who are dying prematurely as a result of breathing polluted air.
Camden Green Party’s Cllr Sian Berry said; “Despite central London being desperately and, at times illegally, over-polluted, the highly populated boroughs of Camden and Islington must also be included in the ULEZ. We are seeing more and more evidence of the health impacts of vehicle pollution and we believe that the Mayor’s half-baked proposal goes nowhere near far enough if he is serious about tackling London’s appalling record on air quality and ever- increasing incidence of respiratory diseases in our city. I am calling upon my colleagues on Camden Council to ask to be included in the ULEZ as part of the current consultation.”
“Only a year ago, Camden Green Party measured nitrogen dioxide pollution to be up to twice the legal limit at some of Highgate’s worst traffic hotspots. We demand that the ULEZ covers the entire borough.”
Cllr Caroline Russell of Islington Green Party is also The Green Party’s National Spokesperson on Local Transport said: “Charging for diesel vehicles to enter the congestion zone is like saying to smokers it’s ok to smoke in our schools if they pay a fee. We want a diesel ban for London anything less is unacceptable. Diesel emissions cause cancer and worsen lung and heart conditions. Londoners deserve better. The Mayor should look at the evidence of the impact on our health and take action.”
“Mayor Johnson’s proposals do not take into account that pollution does not respect the boundaries of the Congestion Charge zone. Camden and Islington have huge issues with air pollution and congestion and we are calling upon our councils to input into this consultation to ensure that they are covered by the ULEZ.”
Jenny Jones added: “The Mayor’s current proposal to clean up the air on a tiny fraction of the main roads with the worse pollution, is of no use to the people living along the majority of London’s polluted roads, nor to the school children going to schools near those roads. The Mayor’s proposal achieves too little, its coverage is too limited and it all happens far too late.
“It is one of the biggest scandals of our age that 4,300 people a year in London are dying prematurely as a result of poor air quality. As serious air pollution is not confined to the boundaries of the congestion charge area, Ultra Low Emission Zone really should be much larger. Plus boroughs outside the zone should be given an opportunity to opt-in at the earliest possible opportunity. ”