The expansion of the clean air zone in London sparks a battle between business and the environment
[1/5]Demonstrators protest against the planned upcoming extension of London’s vehicle emissions tariff in the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) at Marble Arch in London, Britain June 25, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) – The camera ring deployed on London’s streets to charge drivers of the most polluting vehicles £12.50 ($16) a day is due to be expanded next month – and not everyone is happy about it.
If Mayor Sadiq Khan’s plan is implemented, London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) will become one of the world’s largest for combating air pollution, encompassing an additional 5 million people in the capital’s greener and less-connected outskirts.
His plan – which mirrors hundreds of other plans in congested cities across Europe – will face court scrutiny on Tuesday when local councils challenge the expansion, arguing that due process has not been followed, particularly in the way consultations have been conducted.
The expansion has sparked a heated debate across the city, with the mayor and health activists, who point to the environmental success of the initial ULEZ restrictions, versus those who say they cannot tolerate another economic hit at a time of skyrocketing living costs can.
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Carl Cristina, a 44-year-old arborist who lives just outside the border, says it would destroy his livelihood.
“I can’t afford to buy a new van. I just don’t have the budget,” he told Reuters at an anti-ULEZ demonstration in central London that was attended by hundreds.
He opposes a scrappage scheme that could reduce the cost of a replacement vehicle, saying his only option is to pass the fee on to customers – something he says would make him competitive and cut his income in half.
According to the London Transport Authority, only one in ten cars in the London area is not ULEZ-compliant. But like much of the data surrounding the expansion, this is hotly disputed, with some saying the actual figure could be higher.
Cristina has applied for a position in the railway sector.
Can’t please everyone
Put simply as an economic-environmental debate, the row in London reflects the challenges policymakers around the world are facing as the rapidly closing window of opportunity to contain a catastrophic rise in global temperatures grows relative to the cost of action stands.
In Rome this month, the mayor delayed plans to tighten restrictions on polluting vehicles after protests by citizen groups.
Khan, who is running for a third four-year term as London mayor, acknowledges the need for support, citing a £110million scrapping scheme to subsidize the cost of a newer vehicle by £2,000 and a list of exemptions including for people with disabilities.
“The independent assessment confirms that ULEZ is working and the expansion will mean five million more Londoners will breathe cleaner air,” Khan said in an interview with Reuters.
He pointed to research showing that the introduction of the ULEZ in 2019 had resulted in nitrogen dioxide levels in central London falling by almost half and that overall the assessment had supported an expansion. Critics dispute the result of the report.
With less than a year to go before the mayoral election, angry callers light up the capital’s radio call switchboards. Public cameras installed to enforce the ULEZ were vandalized. Other opponents threatened disruptive protests.
But Khan, who has been diagnosed with asthma and has written a book this year on air pollution and climate change, says he is determined to stand up to his critics.
“You’re not always going to give it 100 percent satisfaction,” he said. “No politician in history has done that.”
Some experts say calculating the net benefits of such an expansion can be complicated.
In city centers, where air pollution is higher and there are many alternatives to public transport, environmental zones make a lot of sense, said Thomas Verbeek, assistant professor of urban research at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
“But the further you get from the city center, the less you can improve the air quality,” added Verbeek.
CAN KICKING
A YouGov poll last year found that 43% of Londoners supported the proposed expansion, while a further 8% supported a delayed expansion. About 27% were against, the rest were undecided.
Jemima Hartshorn, founder of the Mums for Lungs campaign group and mother of a daughter with asthma, has no doubts and says it’s often the poorest who suffer when they live on busy roads.
“It’s absolutely critical that even in a cost of living crisis, we don’t blow up air pollution and leave more children growing up unhealthy and unwell,” she said.
Others, however, are focused on the economic damage it could cause if it keeps shoppers, guests and workers like arborist Cristina from coming to town.
Teresa O’Neill, leader of a Greater London council who is behind the lawsuit, said local businesses such as care facilities feared staff losses, while businesses in the food and retail sectors feared a drop in demand as ULEZ soared costs drive.
“I’ve been a leader for 15 years now … and I don’t think we’ve ever had an issue like this that’s actually garnered that much attention,” she said. “People tell you they absolutely hate it.”
Additional reporting by Gavin Jones in Rome; Adaptation by William James and Andrew Heavens
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Sachin Ravikumar
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