London comes at or near the top in many league tables: among major global cities it is one of the biggest, the richest, the most educated… However, there is one label that the British capital would like to shake off – that of one of the most congested and polluted metropolises in the developed world.
On average, London’s 8.7 million residents spend 73 peak hours stuck in traffic – more than twice as many as their peers in in Dubai or Vancouver, according to traffic intelligence company Inrix. The problem goes beyond inconvenience and economic cost. Government figures suggest that as many as 9,000 Londoners die each year as a result of air pollution.
The concentration of small breathable particles of less than 2.5 microns – known as PM2.5 – in London air is 50 per cent higher than recommended by the World Health Organisation. The city also has elevated levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), long-term exposure to which can cause lung problems and breathing difficulties.
With the UK capital’s population growing twice as fast as that of the rest of the country, the problem is only going to get worse. Fighting pollution, therefore, is a major priority for Shirley Rodrigues, London’s Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, whose administration has promised to be the city’s “greenest ever”.
“London’s growth presents a range of social, economic and environmental sustainability challenges. One of the most pressing is the threat to Londoners’ health from our filthy air,” she says.
London’s growth presents a range of social, economic and environmental sustainability challenges
New measures include a “toxic charge” for the oldest and most polluting vehicles in central London from October 2017, tighter emissions standards across most of the city, plans for car-free days, reserved parking for the cleanest vehicles and £2.1bn of funding to encourage walking and cycling.
The first two fully electric bus routes were launched in London in 2016 and the city’s fleet of such vehicles currently numbers 73, making it the largest in Europe.
The aim, explains Rodrigues, is for all 300 of the single-deck buses in central London to be zero emission, and for all 3,100 of the famous red double-deckers to be hybrid by 2020.
London will also draw on the latest technology as it tries to clean up its act – and its air.
“Technology has a crucial role to play: for instance, it will drive innovation such as the new generation of clean buses and taxis being brought into service on London’s streets,” she says.
“Additionally, smart technology will provide opportunities to use large amounts of data to inform people’s decision-making in a range of areas: from how to get around the city using smartphone apps to installing smart meters to help increase the energy efficiency of their homes.”
To encourage tech innovation, the UK capital offers 700 free data sets to developers, researchers and businesses via the London Datastore portal.
This includes information on pollution, live bus timetables, cycle routes, passenger flows and much more. There are already several apps that can track how users reduce CO2 emissions, burn calories and save money by walking.
Pollution, however, does not just come from traffic. The capital’s mountain of wasted food, for example, generates some 2.1 million tonnes of CO2 emissions each year, with produce rotting in landfill sites while the poorest Londoners go hungry.
“Food waste is a complicated problem and won’t be solved overnight. But it can’t be right that in a city as prosperous and progressive as London there are so many people using foodbanks, while at the same time so much perfectly edible food is thrown away by households, retailers, restaurants and suppliers,” says Rodrigues.
We are working with partners to better redistribute surplus food to Londoners who need it
“We are working with partners to better redistribute surplus food to Londoners who need it and … we’re urging everyone – from the smallest enterprises to the biggest players – to join forces to help stop us wasting so much food.”
One initiative is a state-of-the-art energy recovery facility (ERF) currently being built in Beddington, South London. Due to be completed in 2018, it will process around 275,000 tonnes of waste a year, generating 26 megawatts of electricity in the process – enough to power the facility itself plus 30,000 homes.
London’s buoyant building industry is also being asked to shape up, with new guidelines on minimising emissions during construction and policies to protect green spaces.
“Robust planning policy is vital if we’re to meet the Londoners’ needs as well protect our environment and preserve what makes London such a fantastic place to live, work, study and visit. If we ignore sustainability we risk not just negative effects but also missing the opportunities for future prosperity this growth will bring.”
