Caroline visited Marylebone Road, London’s most polluted street, with Jenny Jones AM on 10th April.
The capital’s poor air quality is estimated to be responsible for the premature deaths of around 1000 Londoners a year.
Greens on the London Assembly have pushed the current Mayor to set up the Low Emission Zone, which discourages the older, heavy diesel lorries from entering London. Now the Green Party want the restrictions on polluting vehicles to be extended to light goods vehicles as well.
Action on air quality has become a key point of difference between the main parties in the London election. The Lib Dem candidate for Mayor has opposed the Low Emission Zone and the conservative candidate has described it as draconian, but the Greens argue that the measures are necessary because they will save lives and improve health for many thousands of Londoners.
The Marylebone Road area is one of the worst pollution hot spots in the country. Air pollution is estimated to reduce life expectancy in the UK by an average of eight months. Levels of most pollutants are generally far higher in London than in most of the country. The number of London sites breaching annual European legal limits for particulates (PM10s) rocketed from 1 in 2000 to 11 last year.
Jenny Jones AM said:
"Too many Londoners are still dying and suffering from traffic pollution. I welcome the current Mayor’s introduction of a Low Emission Zone to deal with the older, more polluting heavy diesel vehicles. However, this will deal with only part of the problem, and it won’t be enough to guarantee the health of Londoners.
"We also need to bring in measures to help clean up the majority of polluting vehicles in London by extending LEZ to light goods vehicles, and by cleaning up our bus fleet and doing much more to help reduce the need to travel by car. Electing Greens to the London Assembly will help make that happen. Londoners can’t rely on the other parties to make the tough decisions which protect our health and lives."
Caroline Lucas said:
"The failure of the Government and local authorities borders on the criminal and the UK was only one of five countries in the European Union to receive a letter from the European Commission over its poor air quality record.
"This area of London is one of the worst polluted in Europe and has consistently breached the European 2005 legal limits on PM10s. As well as a tougher Low Emission Zone, London needs to carry on its successful policies to reduce the total amount of traffic through increased investment in public transport, cycling and walking."