When pollution meets politics, efforts to clean up the air in the world’s big cities can bring risks as well as wins. London and New York got a taste of it this week.
London this week published data showing that the air is cleaner since its mayor, Sadiq Khan, made the politically contentious decision to expand fees on polluting cars and trucks driving into London. Two key ingredients of pollution responsible for worsening asthma and other ailments — particulate matter and nitrogen oxide — dropped significantly in the first six months after London had expanded what it calls its Ultra Low Emissions Zone, according to the new data
The data is part of Mr. Khan’s efforts to persuade motorists, particularly those in the suburbs, that the extra costs good for public health. The air is measurably cleaner in outer London, where opposition to the expansion was robust.
“The decision to expand the ULEZ was a difficult one, but the right one,” he said in a briefing with reporters, using the acronym for the low-emission zone.
New York’s congestion-pricing fight
It’s the first piece of evidence showing what congestion pricing, imposed on the whole of London, has done to pollution levels. As such, it could hold lessons for other politicians, including in New York, where the United States’ first congestion-pricing policy was shelved in June by Governor Kathy Hochul, just weeks before it was set to begin, during a crucial election year.
The governor’s troubles grew this week, with two lawsuits filed alleging that she exceeded her authority in pausing the pricing plan.
In many cities, like London and New York, cars and trucks that run on gasoline and diesel are the main source of the greenhouse gases that are driving climate change. City officials have come under increasing public pressure to clean up their air in recent years but also face pressure from motorists and industries opposed to congestion-pricing policies.
London’s new pollution figures could be used to bolster the efforts of mayors around the world to tackle air pollution in cities, as well as traffic congestion and ultimately, their goals for slowing climate change.
London has long had a congestion charge of 15 pounds (roughly $19) for all vehicles, even electric ones, coming into the core of the city. In 2019 a new fee was applied to polluting vehicles coming into a slightly larger area of London. Vehicles had to meet tailpipe emissions standards or pay 12.50 pounds (about $16) to enter.
Then, in August last year, Mr. Khan expanded that charge to the entire city, which meant that drivers in the outer regions were covered.
Election issue for London’s mayor
It was politically risky. There were protests. Traffic cameras were toppled. Then, as the mayoral election loomed, the Ultra Low Emissions Zone expansion turned into a battleground issue.
Mr. Khan’s Conservative Party opponents criticized it, saying it would bring financial hardship at a time of rising costs of living. Even some of his fellow Labour Party politicians, urged caution.
Then came the election, in early May. Mr. Khan prevailed, winning a third term as mayor with a comfortable majority.
On Thursday, his office released figures on how the city’s air had changed in the first six months of the expanded low-emissions zone. Levels of tiny, inhalable particulate matter, known as “2.5,” from cars were estimated to be 22 percent lower in the outer areas of London. Nitrogen oxide was estimated to be 21 percent lower.
Equally important, the latest figures showed, the vast majority of vehicles coming into the city were complying with the new tailpipe standards. Not many Londoners, it turns out, are having to pay the fee.
The BBC reported in April that the citywide Ultra Low Emission Zone had brought in more than 130 million pounds into city coffers. That said, the city’s transit authorities, which run the program, project that by 2026, the city is not expected to collect revenues from ULEZ fees, because all cars will comply.
What about other cities?
Stockholm has had a congestion price since 2007. A 2018 study showed that it had reduced air pollution by 5 to 15 percent and had also reduced the rate of acute asthma attacks among young children.
New York’s experience is a sharp contrast.
New York City has failed in its decades-long efforts to enact a congestion price on cars coming into portions of the city. It was expected to reduce gridlock in Manhattan and raise $1 billion annually for public transit improvements.
That plan was abruptly suspended in June by Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat. She said it would create financial hardships for some drivers. But some of her critics said she had buckled because it was politically risky in a crucial election year.