Since coming to office last May, Mr Khan has announced a raft of measures aimed at reducing airborne pollution, including a vow to clean-up London’s bus fleet, mandating the adoption of ‘zero emission’ Taxis and confirming plans to introduce the Ultra Low Emission Zone proposed by his predecessor.
However Caroline Russell, a Green Party member of the London Assembly, says Mr Khan’s policies will have little impact in outer London where she claims they’ll reduce pollution levels by just 0.3 per cent by 2019.
Ms Russell wants the Mayor to go further in his efforts, including by consulting on a London-wide Ultra Low Emission Zone and using his position as head of Transport for London to improve public transport, pedestrian and cycling provision.
She said: “Parents have told me they feel ‘profound guilt’ for raising their children in London and I have met entire families who developed asthma because they moved to an outer borough with bad air.
“It just isn’t fair to draw a line around central London and only focus efforts on reducing pollution there while thousands of Londoners will be left out – pollution doesn’t respect borough boundaries and we need a London-wide solution.”
