Phase out diesel vehicles, says London Assembly

The London Assembly Environment Committee has mounted pressure on Mayor of London Boris Johnson by suggesting that he should introduce plans to phase out the use of diesel vehicles in the capital.

Diesel vehicles currently account for 40 per cent of London’s air pollution which attributes to an estimated 3,000 preventable deaths a year. It is second only to smoking as the leading environmental cause of death, prompting calls for the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), due to commence in 2020, to be brought forward.

The report ‘Driving away from diesel: Reducing air pollution from diesel vehicles’ urges Johnson to do more to tackle the capital's toxic levels of nitrogen oxide gas (NOx). The report's recommendations include expanding the area of the ULEZ which will restrict access to low and zero emission vehicles, beyond the congestion charging zone. It also suggests increasing the ULEZ fine amount for polluting vehicles and regularly reviewing how ULEZ is working and whether the maximum pollution levels need to be lowered.

London Assembly member Stephen Knight said: “The Committee has been pushing for NO2 compliance for some time now but following the judgment from the Supreme Court in April, the government is now obliged to act by law. We urge the Mayor and the government to take our recommendations on board and we call on the Mayor to finally take ownership of the matter in order to help London's air quality meet legal limits."

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