Low Emission Zone Sign/Signage on West Hill Wandsworth, August 2023. Photo Credit: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images
Environment United KingdomLow-Emission Zone Expands, in This Massive Capital
The Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London, the United Kingdom, is set to expand once more to include the outer areas of England’s capital, thus reducing polluting emissions and guaranteeing cleaner air for the population.
Since its introduction in 2019 – and first extended in 2021 – London’s ULEZ has contributed to a decrease in the number of diesel cars, and an overall reduction in vehicles and traffic. Plus, pollution emissions “have reduced dramatically” with 4 million people “breathing cleaner air”, as Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, puts it.
Older and highly polluting vehicles are charged with a $16 levy on a daily basis to limit their access to the inner city – and soon the outer areas within the north and south circular roads that ring inner London – since Londoners are “suffering the consequences of air pollution” with all London boroughs exceeding limits for toxic air pollution as set out by the World Health Organization. According to Transport for London, the London-wide zone will generate up to $2.55 million a year in revenue for its first two years.