Mayor of London – three phase consultation on air quality

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TfL, Fergus Worthy reports to IOC.

Today, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, launched a series of consultations to ask Londoners about their views on proposals to improve air quality in the Capital, some of which may be of interest to fellows and members of the IOC.

Air quality is the biggest environmental challenge to face London. We are currently breaching our legal limits of nitrogen dioxide, which alongside other pollutant causes the equivalent of 9,400 deaths of Londoners every year. London’s air quality has improved significantly in recent years but much more needs to be done to protect the health of Londoners.

Sadiq’s air quality survey aims to engage the public in a conversation about the causes of air pollution in the Capital and what measures they want to see introduced to tackle the problem. It will form part of a series of consultations about measures to tackle air quality in the Capital which are planned as follows:

Phase 1 – July 2016: Air quality consultation on high level proposals including the principle of introducing a new Emissions Surcharge to discourage the oldest vehicles from driving in Central London and changes to the plans for the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ), high pollution alerts and incentivising the use of cleaner vehicles.

Phase 2 – Autumn 2016: Policy consultation on transport related proposals including a detailed statutory public consultation on the introduction of a new Emissions Surcharge

Phase 3 – Autumn 2017:  A detailed statutory public consultation on the transport related proposals including the widening of the ULEZ boundary to include more of inner London and proposal to tighten the emission standards for the Londonwide Low Emission Zone

These consultations are open to all and so you may want to make your staff and/or members aware of the consultation to encourage their participation. We welcome all suggestions about improving air quality in the Capital, however, you may prefer to submit a formal response on air quality proposals as part of phases 2 and 3 of the consultation.

You can find more information about the first stage of consultation on the Talk London website www.london.gov.uk/cleanair

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