Explainer: What are clean air zones, and do they work?

London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) expands on Tuesday.
Right here, the PA information company solutions eight key questions on measures geared toward chopping air air pollution.
– What are clean air zones (CAZs)?
City areas the place an area authority has launched measures geared toward boosting air high quality.
– The place are they?
In England there are CAZs in Tub, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside.
– Are there comparable schemes elsewhere?
London has an extremely low emission zone (Ulez), Glasgow has a low emission zone and Oxford has a zero emission zone.
– How do CAZs function?
Some have fees for autos that do not adjust to minimal emissions requirements, whereas others use measures for enhancing air high quality comparable to retrofitting sure autos or rerouting site visitors.
– What automobiles adjust to the requirements?
Usually petrol fashions registered from 2006 and diesel fashions registered from September 2015.
– What are some examples of fees?
In London, non-compliant automobiles are charged £12.50 a day, whereas in Birmingham the every day cost is £8.
– Do the schemes work?
A report printed by the Mayor of London in February claimed the earlier growth of the Ulez – to the North and South Round Roads in October 2021 – had a “vital affect” in lowering the variety of older, extra polluting autos utilized in that space and chopping “dangerous air air pollution”.
It acknowledged that since 2019, emissions of nitrogen oxides from street site visitors in London are estimated to be 23% decrease than they would have been with the Ulez.
Unbiased research have additionally discovered a drop in ranges of nitrogen dioxide within the Ulez space since its introduction although differ in saying by how a lot emissions fell – between 6% and 19%.
– How a lot cash do they make?
RAC evaluation of TfL figures discovered the growth of London’s Ulez generated an estimated £93.6 million of extra income from drivers within the first eight months.
TfL stated the Ulez is “not about getting cash, however about enhancing the well being and wellbeing of tens of millions of Londoners”.
It added that every one cash acquired is “reinvested into strolling, biking and public transport”.