Islington Council has taken a major step towards reducing diesel emissions in the borough by agreeing a parking surcharge for owners of diesel vehicles.
Sole opposition, Green Party Councillor Caroline Russell said: “Islington Greens along with many community groups in Islington have been calling and campaigning for action on health-damaging air pollution from diesel vehicles for years. Diesel pollutants cause cancer as well as asthma and other severe health problems. We were disappointed when Islington Labour councillors voted down my motion last month to join Camden and Hackney councils in calling for an extension to the Mayor’s proposed Ultra Low Emission Zone to cover our borough. But, we are in full support of the new diesel parking charge and welcome the initiative.”
“The charge is aimed at discouraging the purchase of diesel vehicles and gives a clear signal to residents that driving diesel in a city contributes to health damaging air pollution should be avoided. We now want the council to go further and do all it can to reduce all vehicle trips and make public transport and active travel options both safe and convenient.”
“I appreciate that it is hard for owners of diesel vehicles, but the manufacturers and vehicle retailers have been slow to pick up on the increasing body of evidence showing that even the latest diesel vehicles are very polluting when driven in congested city conditions (note 1). I am not surprised to hear that Islington council is now being lobbied by the motor industry to backtrack but they should stand firm and resist the corporate interests who are more concerned with their bottom line than the health of Islington residents.”
Note 1: A new report from the Institute of Clean Passenger Transportation documents the discrepancy between type-approval and real-world NOx emissions from new diesel passenger cars. On average, on-road NOx emissions from the vehicles tested for this analysis were about seven times higher than the limits set by the Euro 6 standard.
http://www.theicct.org/real-world-exhaust-emissions-modern-diesel-cars