Almost 9,500 Londoners die from long-term exposure to air pollution
Close to 80 per cent Londoners have backed London mayor Sadiq Khan’s plans to cleean up the capital’s filthy air.
The mayor is taking urgent action to help end London’s ‘public health emergency’ after revealing that the equivalent of almost 9,500 Londoners die from long-term exposure to air pollution every year and 443 schools in the capital are in areas exceeding safe air quality levels.
The consultation, which ran from 5 July to 29 July, revealed that 79 per cent of Londoners consulted supported Sadiq’s proposal to bring the Ultra Low Emission Zone forward to 2019 and that 71 per cent believe it should be expanded to the North and South Circular.
Consultation results indicate widespread support for the mayor’s call to government for a diesel scrappage scheme to help Londoners switch away from the most polluting cars.
There is even stronger support for implementing an early £10 Emissions Surcharge (dubbed the ‘T-charge’) on the most polluting vehicles entering central London from 2017.
The consultation found 81 per cent supported the charge, which would apply to all vehicles with pre-Euro 4 emissions standards – typically those registered before 2005 – and will cost an extra £10 per day on top of the existing Congestion Charge.
Sadiq Khan said: “A record number of Londoners responded to our consultation, which demonstrates they feel just as strongly as I do that cleaning up the capital’s killer air has to be a major priority.
“The equivalent of 9,500 Londoners die each year as a result of the air they breathe in our city, I refuse to sit back and do nothing. Both the previous Mayor and the Government failed to get their act together to meet legal pollution limits and that’s why I have put forward some bold, hard-hitting measures to tackle this issue head on. I will consider the consultation findings in more detail before deciding on the next steps.
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