Matheson ditches low emission zones plans
● Anti-pollution campaigners and health groups condemn delays
Plans to implement low emission zones (LEZS) in Scotland’s four largest cities have been put on hold due to Covid-19, the transport secretary has announced.
Michael Matheson said the decision to temporarily pause their introduction, which was planned to reduce air pollution, was due to the impact of coronavirus on local authorities.
He said it was “no longer practicable” to introduce the zones by the end of the year due to “necessary changes to priorities” for the Scottish Government and local authorities. But the move was condemned by campaigners and health charities for avoiding an “urgent need” to reduce air pollution in Scotland’s cities amid claims of links between exposure to air pollution and a heightened risk of suffering a severe infection of Covid-19.
The decision was made by the Low Emission Zone Leadership Group which includes the transport secretary, climate change secretary Roseanna Cunningham and representatives from local authorities, Public Health Scotland, and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa).
The government added that Covid-19 has given it the chance to learn lessons about air pollution and to “consider the kind of transport systems we want to see return to our cities” after the virus is suppressed. Mr Matheson said: “Similar to other initiatives across public sector, we have come to the view that introducing low emission zones across our four biggest cities by the end of 2020 is no longer practicable.”
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s air pollution campaigner Gavin Thomson said: “The short-term drops in pollution we’ve seen during shutdown will not be sustained unless councils and government take meaningful action to change our transport system, restricting the most polluting vehicles while prioritising walking and cycling.
“Dundee, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh Councils had all passed plans for the first year of the zones, and Glasgow’s zone was preparing to enter its third year. The Government should limit the extent of any delay, and use any pause to make sure the zones are genuinely ambitious and change our transport system.” Joseph Carter, head of Asthma UK & British Lung Foundation Scotland, called for the government to reconsider the move.
He said: “We are calling for the Scottish Government to reconsider this action and follow the lead of cities like Paris who are strengthening their LEZS at this time.”