Major new report shows that harmful pollution emissions have reduced by 26 per cent within the expanded ULEZ area – compared with what they would have been without the ULEZ coming into force. The report shows that the ULEZ has reduced harmful pollution levels in central London by nearly half compared to what they would have been without the ULEZ.
- In inner London, pollution levels are 21 per cent lower than they would have been without the ULEZ
- Each day, 74,000 fewer polluting vehicles are seen driving in the zone, a cut of 60 per cent since expansion in October 2021.
- Thanks to the ULEZ expansion to inner London, over four million people now breathe cleaner air, including children in 1,362 schools.
The first year of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion to inner London has achieved a dramatic reduction in emissions and air pollution, and a huge increase in the share of vehicles that meet the ULEZ standards, according to a major new report from City Hall and peer reviewed by Dr Gary Fuller at Imperial College London.[1]
Despite huge progress, the whole of London still exceeds the World Health Organization’s guidelines for air quality, and over half of deaths attributable to air pollution are in outer London.
Around 4,000 Londoners die prematurely every year due to toxic air, and the report published today shows that the Mayor’s air quality policies, in particular the ULEZ and LEZ schemes, are having a transformative impact – cutting the number of older, more polluting vehicles seen driving in London and reducing the levels of harmful air pollution.
The ULEZ was introduced in central London in 2019 and expanded to inner London in October 2021. The central London ULEZ had a clear impact – in its first 10 months of operation, it helped reduce road transport nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions by 35 per cent and CO2 emissions by 6 percent in the zone. Today’s landmark report shows that the ULEZ expansion has built on these benefits, with harmful nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels 46 per cent lower in central London and 21 per cent lower in inner London than they would have been without the scheme. Thanks to the expansion of the ULEZ in inner London, NOx emissions have reduced by 23 per cent (13,500 tonnes) across London cumulatively since 2019 compared with what they would have been without the ULEZ. Within the existing ULEZ area, emissions have dropped by 26 per cent (5,000 tonnes) over the same four-year period, compared with what they would have been.
The number of older, more polluting vehicles in the zone has also continued to reduce significantly, dropping by 60 per cent since the inner London expansion came into operation in October 2021– an average reduction of 74,000 polluting vehicles every day seen driving in the zone. Overall, there were nearly 50,000 fewer vehicles seen in the zone on an average day – a reduction of almost five per cent compared to the month prior to the expansion.
The Mayor announced last November that the ULEZ will be expanded across all London boroughs in August 2023 to help bring the air quality and associated health benefits to the five million people living in outer London.
Today’s new report shows how vital further action is as average pollution concentrations at background monitoring sites in outer London have remained constant since 2021, with over half of deaths attributable to air pollution in outer London. The whole of London still exceeds the World Health Organization’s guidelines for air quality and there is no safe level of exposure.