SNP’s £140m crackdown on exhaust emissions to save just ONE life a year
New charges will have ‘a relatively small impact’ say their own experts
SNP plans to charge motorists to drive in city centres in a bid to cut deaths from air pollution will save only one life per year, the Scottish Government’s own experts say.
Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen are to impose low emissions zones (LEZs) by 2022.
Drivers will have to pay up to £100 if caught on camera in a vehicle that does not meet strict environmental standards.
Transport Scotland estimates the cost of the scheme for the first ten years could be up to £140 million.
But a study by the Government’s Scottish Environment Protection Agency, NHS agency Health Protection Scotland and the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde said the crackdown would prevent only one premature death a year.
Scottish Conservative environment spokesman Maurice Golden said: ‘This study shows what the real motivation is for the SNP when it comes to such initiatives.
‘They have been caught out once again announcing ill-considered gimmicks rather than taking an evidence-based approach.
‘All the while, motorists and businesses will have to pay the price. There may well be a place for LEZs in cities, but it has to be done in partnership with business and motoring groups.
‘The SNP has rushed head-first into this and now the strategy is beginning to unravel.’
Legislation to allow councils to set up LEZs is contained in the Transport (Scotland) Bill currently passing through Holyrood.
Ministers claim action is necessary because ‘over 1,500 premature deaths each year are attributable to air pollution’.
Glasgow has already introduced a small scheme targeting older buses, while Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen are focusing their plans around their city centres.
Number plate recognition cameras will monitor roads in and out of the zones. Owners of vehicles that do not meet emissions standards will be sent penalty charges – likely to be around £10 for private cars and £100 for vans.
The Scottish Government insists nitrogen dioxide and two categonational ries of particulates – of ten micro-centimetres in diameter (PM10) and 2.5 mcm (PM2.5) – from vehicles are causing markedly higher rates of mortality. But the study – published in the journal Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology – challenges that claim.
The researchers gathered health and air quality data across Scotland and found only PM2.5 posed a danger. But it was linked only to respiratory, not cardiovascular, disease.
They estimated a drop of one microgramme of PM2.5 in every cubic metre of air in Glasgow city centre would prevent one premature death every two years – with a similar figure for Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen combined.
The report concluded: ‘Focusing an air pollution reduction intervention, such as an LEZ, on a city centre is likely to have a relatively small positive health impact at level because these areas are largely commercial and hence have small resident populations.
‘Even though these areas will see large numbers of people shopping and working, their time spent in the area, especially outdoors, will likely be relatively short.
‘LEZs should be targeted at areas with relatively high pollutant concentrations and a relatively large and more vulnerable population.’
London is the only British city operating an LEZ – but although introduced in 2008, it has barely affected PM2.5 levels.
From 2020, Birmingham and Leeds will begin operating LEZ zones, charging at least £8 a day.
The Transport Scotland research estimated the costs to the taxpayer of setting up and policing the scheme for the first ten years could be £34 million to £140 million.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We are committed to introducing LEZs into Scotland’s four biggest cities in order to protect public health.
‘This is incredibly important for the oldest and youngest in our society and those with existing cardiovascular or respiratory conditions – but is also relevant to all of us who wish to enjoy cleaner air and less polluting emissions in our city centres.’
‘Motorists and businesses will pay the price’