– Ulez initiative lowered emissions by 3% in four years
– Industry standards will have more impact than Khan’s schemes
– Sadiq Khan’s Net Zero goal not achievable until 2050
Sadiq Khan’s Ulez initiative, a deeply unpopular road charge, has been in place for four years. Despite the daily fees for non-compliant vehicles, the scheme has lowered emissions by just 3%. Experts warn that achieving Net Zero emissions could take over a century at this rate.
The new Oxford Economics report suggested that Mr. Khan’s Net Zero goal is not achievable until 2050. Richard Holt, the Director of Global Cities Research at Oxford Economics, said that non-compliant cars in London would have fallen anyway because of changing industry standards. He further stated that the greener type of cars being sold already will have much more impact than any of Mr. Khan’s schemes.
Ulez has been devastatingly unpopular already but vast resources have been deployed to make sure people are caught and fined. A fleet of camera vans have already been deployed in a fresh bid to catch charge dodgers.
Overall, this scheme has been seen as largely ineffective in achieving its goal of reducing emissions, and has caused a great deal of public unrest.
Despite daily fees for non-compliant vehicles, Sadiq Khan’s Ulez initiative has lowered emissions by just 3% in four years. Experts warn it could take over a century to achieve Net Zero emissions at this rate. The Mail has more.
Sadiq Khan’s… deeply unpopular road charge, which has seen protests and violence on the city’s streets, is not a “big story” in terms of environmental benefit, researchers say.
The revelation raises questions as to why the new driving levies were rushed through so quickly.
Mr. Khan has insisted the Ulez scheme is not simply yet another income stream to prop up cash-strapped City Hall and the frequently delayed Tube network and is about the environment.
But Richard Holt, the Director of Global Cities Research at Oxford Economics, said non-compliant cars in London would have fallen anyway because of changing industry standards.
He says the greener type of cars being sold already will have much more impact than any of Mr. Khan’s schemes.
Mr. Holt added: “It’s going to cut the number of high polluting vehicles by about 120,000 or less, out of three million vehicles in London, so it’s a small part of the overall story.
“It will probably have some benefit, but it’s not a big story. The progress we have seen so far is really just because cars have become much, much more energy efficient and much cleaner than they used to be.
“I think the first four years of Ulez, CO2 emissions fell by about 3% over those three years, so it would take more than a century to get to Net Zero this way, which puts the scheme in perspective,” he told the Telegraph.
The Ultra Low Emission Zone, was last week expanded to cover all of London’s 32 boroughs, and carries a daily charge of £12.50 if vehicles do not comply.
The new Oxford Economics report suggested that Mr. Khan’s Net Zero goal is not achievable until 2050.
Ulez has been devastatingly unpopular already but vast resources have been deployed to make sure people are caught and fined.
A fleet of camera vans have already been deployed in a fresh bid to catch charge dodgers.
Worth reading in full.
