Mayor announces plans to expand Ultra Low Emission Zone London wide.

• In a keynote speech on Friday 4 of March in Lewisham the Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that he has asked TfL to consult on expanding the Ultra Low Emission Zone London-wide in 2023 to make London a greener, healthier and less congested city   
• The move is in response to overwhelming evidence showing further bold measures are required to reduce toxic air pollution, tackle the climate emergency and cut congestion in the capital
• The Mayor will say the cost of inaction to our economy, livelihoods, the environment and the health of Londoners would be far greater than the cost of reducing carbon emissions and air pollution
• Expanding ULEZ London-wide will help to protect Londoners and the economy from the damaging impact of air pollution and carbon emissions whilst keeping the number of people affected by any new charge to an absolute minimum as the cost of living increases
• Sadiq Khan commits to help charities, small businesses, disabled people and Londoners on lower incomes to adapt to the extended London-wide ULEZ, with as big a scrappage scheme as is feasible

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also announced that he is asking TfL to consult on expanding the Ultra Low Emission Zone London-wide in 2023, whilst ruling out the Clean Air Charge and the Greater London Boundary Charge.

The Mayor has already taken ground-breaking action to tackle pollution, carbon emissions and congestion in London since 2016, but toxic air caused by traffic is still leading to children growing up with stunted lungs and nearly 4,000 premature deaths a year – with the greatest number of deaths attributable to air pollution in London’s outer boroughs, which the ULEZ doesn’t currently cover. There has also been a slower rate of improvement in air quality in outer London than in central and inner London.

New analysis by City Hall published last month also showed that despite recent improvements in air quality, every hospital, medical centre and care home across the capital is located in areas that breach the new updated World Health Organization’s guidelines for nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. Over 500,000 people in London boroughs suffer from asthma and are vulnerable to the impacts of toxic air. 

Last week, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report that warned there is only a brief and rapidly closing window to tackle the climate crisis, with a warning of the dire consequences of inaction. Severe impacts are already happening and vulnerable people with the least resources to adapt are most exposed. This follows the publication of a report last month which revealed that in order to meet the target of getting to net-zero in London by 2030, car traffic must reduce by at least 27 per cent in the capital by the end of the decade. 

Separate analysis shows vehicle congestion cost the capital £5.1 billion last year, which has risen close to pre-pandemic levels, leading to gridlocked traffic and filthy air pollution.

In order to reduce traffic and associated emissions by anywhere close to the amount required to tackle these three challenges, the capital will have to see a significant shift away from petrol and diesel vehicle use and towards walking and cycling, greater public transport use and cleaner vehicles.

The Mayor will say in his speech that the long-term and fairest solution to these challenges will ultimately be smart road user charging. This would enable all existing road user charges, such as the Congestion Charge and ULEZ, to be scrapped and replaced with a smarter, simpler and fair scheme that charges motorists on a per mile basis. This could allow for different rates to be charged depending on how polluting vehicles are, the level of congestion in the area and access to public transport.

Sadiq Khan has asked TfL to start exploring how this concept could be developed, however TfL is still many years away from being ready to implement such a scheme. Given the urgency of the climate crisis and the damaging impact of toxic air pollution, the Mayor believes bold action must be taken now. That’s why he asked TfL last year to present him with a range of policy options that could be taken forward quickly. These included:  

• Introducing a Greater London Boundary Charge for vehicles driving into London.  
• Implementing a low-level daily Clean Air Charge for all but the cleanest vehicles.
• And extending the Ultra Low Emission Zone to cover the whole of Greater London.   

In weighing up the different proposals, the rising cost of living was a key consideration. This meant looking for a scheme that would have the biggest effect on reducing emissions and congestion relative to the potential financial impact on Londoners as a whole. After examining the science, studying the data and carefully considering the wider economic context, the Mayor has decided his preferred option is to extend the Ultra Low Emission Zone London-wide to the London LEZ boundary in 2023, subject to a public and stakeholder consultation. He has ruled out both the Clean Air Charge and the Greater London Boundary Charge as options. 

The ULEZ is highly targeted at getting the most polluting vehicles off our streets, and early assessments indicate that making it London-wide would: 

• reduce NOx emissions from cars and vans by between 285 and 330 tonnes
• lead to a reduction of around 10 per cent NOx in emissions from cars and vans in outer London on top of building on the 30 per cent reduction in road transport NOx emissions expected from the expanded ULEZ and tighter Low Emission Zone standards
• reduce CO2 emissions in outer London by between 135,000 to 150,000 tonnes
• And reduce the number of the most polluting cars on London’s roads by between an additional 20,000 and 40,000 a day.

The Mayor will also make a commitment in his speech to help charities, small businesses, disabled people and Londoners on lower incomes adapt to the potential London-wide ULEZ, with as big a scrappage scheme as is feasible to help motorists in outer London scrap their older, more polluting vehicles and instead switch to cleaner forms of transport, use a car club vehicle or purchase newer, cleaner models that are ULEZ-compliant.  He will also call on the Government to provide extra support for a scrappage scheme in London – like they have done for other cities around the country. 

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The triple challenges of tackling toxic air pollution, the climate emergency and congestion mean we need to further reduce emissions from vehicles in London. We simply don’t have time to waste. The climate emergency means we only have a small window of opportunity left to reduce carbon emissions to help save the planet. And despite the world-leading progress we have made over the last few years, there is still far too much toxic air pollution permanently damaging the lungs of young Londoners and leading to thousands of deaths every year, with the greatest number of deaths attributable to air pollution in outer London boroughs.

“This is also a matter of social justice – with air pollution hitting the poorest communities the hardest. Nearly half of Londoners don’t own a car, but they are disproportionally feeling the damaging consequences polluting vehicles are causing. 

“If no additional action is taken to reduce air pollution beyond the existing polices, around 550,000 Londoners would develop diseases attributable to air pollution over the next 30 years and the cumulative cost to the NHS and the social care system is estimated to be £10.4 billion.

“I’m determined that we continue to be doers, not delayers in London – not only to protect Londoners’ health right now, but for the sake of future generations to come. It’s clear the cost of inaction – to our economy, to livelihoods, to the environment and the health of Londoners – would be far greater than the cost of reducing toxic air pollution, tackling the climate emergency and cutting congestion.

“We have too often seen measures delayed around the world because it’s viewed as being too hard or politically inconvenient, but I’m not willing to put off action we have the ability to implement here in London.

“In weighing up the different options, the rising cost of living was a key consideration for me. Because at a time when people’s budgets are under pressure, I’m not willing to ask people to pay more unless I’m absolutely convinced it’s justified to save lives and protect the health of Londoners. I believe the proposal to extend the ULEZ London-wide will have the biggest effect on emissions and congestion relative to the potential financial impact on Londoners as a whole. We are also proposing  to introduce the biggest scrappage scheme feasible to help Londoners on low incomes, disabled Londoners and businesses.”