A letter to Mayor Johnson asking for Islington to be included in the Mayor’s proposed Ultra Low Emission Zone to clean up our air by 2020 was handed to the Environment Committee of the London Assembly ahead of their meeting this morning. The committee is due to discuss the Mayor’s proposed Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) banning the most polluting vehicles from the central congestion zone by 2020. The letter proposed by Islington Green Party was intended to be signed by a cross party delegation including Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Labour and Independent Councillor Greg Foxsmith but unfortunately Labour declined to sign at the last minute.
Caroline Russell, of Islington Green Party said: “We had hoped for cross party agreement on a strategy to clean up our air in Islington. Surprisingly Labour have declined to back the call for cleaner air. The aim is to ensure that people in Islington are not left out when residents within the central congestion zone begin to benefit from cleaner air in 2020. We know that diesel causes cancer and that there is a clear link with lung and heart diseases from breathing polluted air.”
Islington Greens want to protect the health of all Islington residents, especially those on lower incomes who are most affected by our polluted roads, by ensuring that air in Islington is at least as clean as the air in the central congestion zone once the Mayor’s proposed ULEZ comes into force. Since the majority of the traffic in Islington comes from outside the borough the aim is to clean up Islington’s air by preventing the most polluting vehicles from driving through. There are far more people exposed to air pollution than the few owning the most polluting vehicles.
Caroline Allen, the Green Party’s no 2 candidate for the European Elections in London, said ” London is already more than four years behind Berlin on this, we don’t see how we can advocate maintaining vehicles emitting cancer causing diesel exhaust on the roads after 2020. With 6 years pre-warning, the 35% of residents with access to a car or van have time to plan ahead and politicians have more than enough time to plan mitigating measures for poorer residents who are currently dependent on older polluting vehicles, which are also often more expensive to run. The Mayor could apply for European structural funds to support London in the implementation of Ultra Low Emissions Zones, and use it to ensure residents and small businesses are given financial support to make necessary changes.”
Independent Councillor Greg Foxsmith said: “Air pollution is too important an issue to ignore, and the Mayor must act quickly. He should create an ultra-low emission zone to tackle harmful emissions, and we want Islington to be part of it.”
Caroline Russell, Highbury Campaigner, added “It’s relevant that Dr Mark Lim, a public health doctor, has signed this letter on behalf of Islington Conservatives, sending a strong message to Mayor Johnson that air pollution is a public health emergency that must be tackled. I’m very disappointed that the Labour Councillors have chosen not to sign up. Given that they have claimed that their inaction on air pollution so far is because the issue needs to be dealt with at London level, this was a perfect opportunity to take such action and once again they do nothing. Islington residents, being made ill by breathing dirty air, deserve better.”
Text of the letter below:
Joint letter from Islington Green, Liberal Democrat and Conservative Parties and independent Islington Councillor, Greg Foxsmith
Boris Johnson
Mayor of London
City Hall
The Queen’s Walk
London SE1 2AA 6th February 2014
Dear Mayor,
We are writing on behalf of Islington Green, Liberal Democrat and Conservative Parties and independent Councillor Greg Foxsmith.
The World Health Organisation classified diesel exhaust carcinogenic for humans in June 2013. We understand that you are likely to propose introducing an Ultra Low Emission Zone from 2020 that will ban from the Central Congestion Charging Zone (CCZ) diesel vehicles of all sorts manufactured before 2014 (ie. pre-Euro 6) and petrol vehicles manufactured before 2008 (ie. pre-Euro 4).
In order to protect the health of Islington residents, we ask that you include the whole of the London Borough of Islington in your proposed Ultra Low Emission Zone to ban the oldest diesel vehicles of all sorts, including cars, from 1 January 2020, and that you apply for European structural funds to support the implementation of Ultra Low Emissions Zones by mitigating the economic and equalities impact on residents. We want a more ambitious scheme including an additional and meaningful intermediate step operational within the borough of Islington by May 2018 at the latest.
We look forward to hearing your reply via Islington Green Party, 35 Highbury Park, N5 1TH.
Yours faithfully,
Caroline Russell & Caroline Allen, Islington Green Party
Councillor Greg Foxsmith, Independent
Councillor Terry Stacy & Councillor Tracy Ismail, Islington Liberal Democrat
Dr Mark Lim, public health physician & Chairman of Islington Conservatives