London’s Tax on Polluting Cars Made Everyone Much Healthier
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England's capital has released a report showing drastic drops in air pollution since it expanded its Ultra Low Emission Zone.
The London Ultra Low Emissions Zone was introduced in 2019 and requires vehicles that do not meet modern emissions standards to pay a daily charge to drive of £12.50 ($16). This applies 24 hours a day. While the area covered by the zone only encompassed Central London in 2019, since 2023 it now covers all of Greater London, where around 9 million people live.
The new analysis shows that two of the most dangerous aspects of vehicle emissions - nitrogen oxides, which are responsible for smog formation, and PM2.5, which are tiny particles that irritate the lungs - have each dropped by almost a third compared to if ULEZ hadn’t been implemented, in only the few years that the policy has been in place.
Some areas have seen even more significant declines, like Central London, the most densely populated area. It has seen a drop in NO2 levels of over half. All in all, 99 percent of air quality monitors around London have showed a reduction in pollution, so the new rules have benefitted everyone, reports Electrek.
Better yet, the benefits of cleaner air have been enjoyed by the communities that need them most. In “deprived communities,” which tended to suffer from the most pollution in the first place, there’s been a whopping 80 percent reduction in people exposed to illegal levels of pollution.
The policy has also led to an associated reduction in carbon emissions, as one might expect. In five years, total carbon reduction has equalled the amount of carbon put out by roughly 3 million individual air trips between London and New York. Talking of New York, its congestion charge scheme is claimed to have produced the Fastest Environmental Benefits From Any Policy in US History.
