- London has over 1,000km of road exceeding the NO2 legal limit. This is 43 per cent of the entire UK total[1].
- Pollution from nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter caused the early deaths of almost 9,500 people in London in 2010[2].
In a response to the Government’s consultation[3], the London Assembly Environment Committee calls for the updated Air Quality Plan to ensure that the UK complies with legal levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by 2020 instead of the proposed 2025, saying that the proposals “lack ambition and initiative.”
The Plan is being revised after the Supreme Court in April this year ordered the Government to take action to tackle the dangerously high levels of NO2 found in the UK. Compliance with the limits is required as soon as possible and a revised plan must be proposed by the end of 2015.
The Committee’s response highlights that the proposals fail to question the real emissions of Euro 6 diesel vehicles, despite it now being common knowledge that many models certified as compliant emit several times the regulatory NOx (nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide) limit on UK roads, with some emitting up to 20 times the legal level[4].
Darren Johnson AM, Chair of the Environment Committee, said:
“The EU regulations setting out safe levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) first came into force in 2010 so to still be in breach in 2025, some fifteen years later is an unacceptable threat to public health.
To put it simply, it’s too long to wait when we know that 9,500 people a year are dying due to the dangerously high levels of pollution in London alone.
The Supreme Court ordered the Government to demonstrate that all feasible, effective and proportionate measures have been considered and to ensure legal compliance as soon as possible. With this in mind, the Committee believes that the current version of the Air Quality Plan requires considerable revision, at the very least to address the recent diesel revelations and to support the use of ultra-low emissions vehicles through incentives such as a national scrappage scheme. The Mayor of London and some other local authorities are taking action, but the Government needs to fund and support this, not just leave them to it.”
Notes to editors
- Cleaner Air for London: Progress report on the delivery of the Mayor’s Air Quality Strategy, July 2013.
- Understanding the Health Impacts of Air Pollution in London, King’s College London, July 2015.
- The response is the view of a majority of the Committee, agreed by the Green, Labour and Liberal Democrat Groups, with the Conservative Group dissenting.
- Four more carmakers join diesel emissions row, The Guardian, October 2015.
- Read the Environment Committee response.
- Darren Johnson AM, Chair of the Environment Committee, is available for interviews. Please see contact details below.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For media enquiries, please contact Mary Dolan on 020 7983 4603. For out of hours media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the London Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.