The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Doubts over low emission zone impact
Aberdeen’s proposed low emission zone (Lez) is unlikely to improve air quality in the city, according to an air pollution expert – but that does not mean it is not worth doing.
Improving air quality is one of the primary reasons laid out by the council for banning certain vehicles from driving on city centre roads from May next year.
But an air quality expert – who spent two decades teaching at Aberdeen University – is concerned that, in fact, air pollution levels in the city are unlikely to significantly change with the introduction of the Lez.
Professor Sean Semple has studied our air for most of his career, particularly focusing on researching the health effects of air pollution.
He is uneasy with the emphasis being put on the Lez’s ability to reduce air pollution and resolve associated health problems.
“While I think measures to help reduce car use in Aberdeen to limit CO2 emissions are very welcome, I’m wary of the focus being on improving air quality just in terms of PM2.5 (tiny inhalable particles of pollution) or nitrogen oxides (gases released from burning fossil fuels),” he said.
He points out that a widely recognised issue with low emission zones is that they can increase traffic in areas around the periphery of the restrictions, as cars are forced on to longer, convoluted routes to avoid certain streets.
“It is also worth remembering that emissions from ships burning heavy fuel oil in Aberdeen harbour are likely to contribute substantially to levels of PM2.5 in the centre of the city,” he said.
Historically much of the smog and air pollution in the UK came from vehicles, industry and coal fires.
This has changed with the decline of heavy industry and with the development of cleaner car engines.
And although we tend to think our air quality is getting worse, data shows our air is much cleaner than it was 100 years ago.
Professor Semple says the north-east of Scotland in particular now has some of the cleanest and “best quality” air in the world.
Levels of PM2.5 are about 10 times lower than cities like Delhi.
But comparing Aberdeen to an Indian city of nearly 20 million people is not exactly looking at like for like.
Nonetheless, air quality in Aberdeen and across Scotland’s cities remains a concern. Last year was the first time in a decade that the country was within the legal air pollution limit, largely down to lockdown.