London’s toxic air is an invisible killer and amounts to nothing short of a public health crisis. Thousands die prematurely every year in our city as a direct result of our polluted air, while many more develop life-changing illnesses including cancer, heart disease, dementia and asthma.
What makes this issue particularly scandalous is that it is our children who are among the hardest hit. They don’t contribute to the problem and yet they bear the brunt of it. In parts of London, for example, there are children growing up right now with stunted lungs because of exposure to filthy air – and this will affect them not just in the short-term, but for the rest of their lives.
As the Mayor of London, I’m not willing to shirk my responsibilities and turn a blind eye to young people in our city breathing dangerously polluted air. To do so would be to ignore the duty of care I have to our children. Protecting children’s health and life chances is surely a moral necessity in any civilised society. And so, that’s why my administration has chosen to push ahead with the boldest and most ambitious plans of any major city in the world to tackle air pollution. This includes supporting air quality audits around schools and nurseries to find ways we can improve the air our children breathe.
This month, we introduced the world’s first ever Ultra-Low Emission Zone, the toughest emission standard of any major city in the world. The ULEZ is the centrepiece of my campaign to clean up our dirty air and works by levying a daily charge on the oldest and most polluting vehicles entering central London. It is enforced 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and is designed to encourage more Londoners to get out of their cars and onto public transport, to switch to cleaner vehicles, or to walk or cycle. The ULEZ is set to expand even further in 2021, delivering benefits to all Londoners far beyond its boundaries.
Experts say the impact of the ULEZ will be transformative, with hazardous nitrogen oxides from exhaust pipes expected to be reduced by around 45 per cent. Along with a series of other measures we’re implementing – like no longer licensing new diesel taxis and buying only electric, hybrid or hydrogen-powered buses – we will be able to deliver cleaner air for millions of Londoners. 75 percent of London’s buses now meet clean air rules – we’re aiming to make that 100 percent by 2020.
To give you some idea of the difference we can make, King’s College London estimates that without action it would take 193 years to bring London’s air quality to within legal levels. But with the action we’re taking, we can hope to achieve this goal in just six years. This means the number of schools in London in areas breaching air pollution will be reduced from over 450 today to just five in 2020 and zero in 2025.
We know that traffic emissions are the biggest source of air pollution in our city and that addressing them is key to solving the problem. This is what the ULEZ is all about and it’s also why we’ve been working hard to make public transport a more attractive and affordable alternative for Londoners with our four-year freeze on TfL fares, and the unlimited Hopper bus fare.
But this issue is larger than London, or indeed the rest of the UK, which is in the midst of a similar air quality crisis. As a father and a politician, I spend a lot of time thinking about the world we’re going to leave for future generations. The natural environment that many of us took for granted throughout our lifetime is reaching a tipping point.
Our children appear to grasp this better than many adults and are starting to take action – from online activism to the recent school climate strikes taking place in cities around the world. It’s now time for all of us to see the bigger picture and realise that we can be the first generation who gets it and finds solutions, and the last generation that fails to rise to the challenge.
We have made huge strides in the past in turning the tide on air pollution and environmental problems in London so there is no reason why we can’t do so again. Fewer than 70 years ago, the Great Smog claimed thousands of lives and the River Thames was so polluted it was declared biologically dead. It took brave and innovative policies to make change happen but we proved it was possible.
In 2019, we face a different challenge. Often we can’t see the tiny pollution particles that weave their way deep into our children’s lungs, but we know they are there and that they pose a deadly threat. So I make no apology for the tough action I’m taking.
The ULEZ is a bold measure – but a vital one. It does require Londoners to adapt, but in such circumstances inaction simply isn’t an option. After all, we owe it to our children to ensure the air they breathe is clean and safe, and that the planet we leave to them isn’t imperilled by environmental degradation and climate change.
We will be forwarding your questions on 02/05/2019