Isra-Mart srl:How will Mayor Boris boost London's air quality plan?

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Green groups have urged London Mayor Boris Johnson to urgently adopt stricter traffic control measures in the capital, ahead of a session at the London Assembly today where he will be quizzed on how he plans to rapidly improve the city's air quality plan as required by the European Commission.

The commission granted a temporary exemption to London from its air quality standards for airborne particles known as PM10 earlier this month, meaning London will not face fines for breaching legal limits. However, the fine will only be lifted if Johnson submits a revised air quality plan by 11 June, including some short-term measures to control or suspend activities which could cause annual PM10 levels to be exceeded.

Speaking to BusinessGreen earlier this week, Johnson refused to go into detail on the specific measures he will use to clamp down on PM10 levels, but nevertheless expressed confidence that the targets would be met.

"Air quality is an issue, particularly in hot spots around the Marylebone Road but it is better, it is substantially better than it was in the 1950s, when it was a serious health hazard," he said. "London air quality compares very favourably with many other European cities. But that doesn't mean we can't do better and we will."

According to the King's College London Environmental Research Group, the busy Marylebone Road area has already breached the PM10 daily EU limit 20 times this year, compared to 11 at the same time last year.

Under the EU directive only 35 daily breaches are allowed annually, suggesting London could hit the legal limit by the summer. Simon Birkett, founder and director of the Campaign for Clean Air in London suggested that if such breaches continue at the current rate, the EU Commission could revoke the decision to waive London's fine.

He urged the mayor to adopt a series of tough short-term traffic control measures outlined by Johnson's own advisors in 2009, which would include banning certain types of vehicles on different days of the week and imposing stricter road use charges.

While he admitted that some of these measures could be very challenging to implement, he said they will be necessary to ensure the London does not exceed the EU limit and prevent further disruption later down the line.

"While now being essential to protect health and avoid legal action, these measures will inevitably be chaotic compared to the sensible long-term measures they replace," he said "Let's not forget either the real cost to green businesses that invested expecting public health laws would be complied with when they are not."

His comments were echoed by Friends of the Earth London campaigns co-ordinator Jenny Bates, who criticised Johnson for backtracking on policies, such as scrapping the western extension of the London Congestion Charge zone and delaying phase three of the low emissions zone, a charging scheme aimed at reducing emissions from diesel-powered commercial vehicles.

"They need to be looking at some seriously strong initiatives to cut inner London emissions," she said. "the overall problem is the volume of traffic and improving the quality of the new vehicles on the roads."

Meanwhile, Green Party Assembly Member Darren Johnson will today call on the Mayor to endorse a plan to fund a new fleet of low emission taxis through an advertising deal similar to that which has seen Barclays back London's bike hire scheme.