Isra-Mart srl : Olympic Games transport could spark EU pollution fines

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The Mayor of London has been urged to enforce a "very low carbon emissions zone" in the capital during summer 2012, after campaigners warned that vehicles going to and from the Olympic Games park could result in a breach of EU air pollution laws.

Green groups have today urged Boris Johnson to reject the latest draft of the Olympic Transport Plan over concerns that it could lead to daily breaches of PM10 and nitrogen (NO2) limits, making the UK vulnerable to a legal challenge in the European Court of Justice and a potential fine of up to £300m.
The call comes just a day after the Olympics sustainability watchdog said the games organisers will deliver only nine per cent of electricity from renewable sources, far short of its 20 per cent target. However, it also predicted that overall the organisers will deliver a sustainable event.

An environmental impact assessment of the second draft of the Olympic Transport Plan (PDF), which is currently out to consultation, predicts that daily mean exceedences of PM10 levels at some roadside locations during the games will potentially exceed the number of breaches allowed under national Air Quality Standards (AQS). It also warned that both NO2 and PM10 levels may exceed AQS across the Olympic route network in 2012.

Responding to the consultation today, Simon Birkett, founder and director of the Clean Air in London campaign, said that the draft plan risked playing mind games with Londoners by using "scare" tactics that encourage people to travel less by exploiting their fear of traffic jams.

Instead, he proposed that the mayor should adopt a Berlin-style low emission zone for inner London during the 100 days in 2012 covered by the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. Such a move would ban all pre-Euro 4 diesel vehicles from entering the zone, with the exception of licenced black taxis dropping off passengers and vulnerable groups.

Birkett's call was echoed by Green Party MP Darren Johnson who said that the proposed draft strategy would break the Olympic contract in which London pledged to comply with environmental legislation.

"Going over the European legal limit for particulate pollution in 2012 would also land us immediately in court, with the possibility of a £300m fine," he said. "[The mayor] needs to heed this warning by immediately introducing a Very Low Emission Zone which only allows the cleanest vehicles to enter central London.

"The mayor's solution to Olympic congestion is to tell Londoners to either escape the capital or not travel around if they do stay in the capital. That is really not much of a traffic reduction plan."

Campaigners added that if the Olympics results in significant breaches of air quality rules the mayor may be forced to emulate the previous hosts in Beijing and ban some cars from entering the capital during the Games.

However, a spokeswoman from Transport for London insisted that plans were being drawn up to ensure pollution limits were not breached, including measures set out in the Mayor's Air Quality Strategy published in December last year. She also denied that TFL was planning to scare people into travelling less.

"During the Games, it will be business as unusual and people will need to consider different ways of working and travelling, including home and flexible working, travelling at different times or walking and cycling more," she said.

"We believe the consequent reduction in traffic will have a positive impact on reducing vehicle pollutants, minimising the risk of exceeding air quality levels across London and potentially offsetting any air quality impact from and along the Olympic Route Network and Paralympic Route Networks."

Isabel Dedring, the Mayor of London's environmental advisor, said: "Pollution is a serious health issue and we are committed to cleaning up London's air before, during and after the Games. Transport for London and the Olympics Delivery Authority (ODA) are already exploring how best to jointly mitigate the environmental impact of the Olympic transport plans."

The latest developments came as the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 yesterday issued its fourth annual report assessing the environmental impact of the Games.

It concluded that the ODA and London Organising Committee (LOCOG) are on track to reduce carbon emissions by 50 per cent as planned, but they will only deliver nine per cent of electricity from renewables, rather than the 20 per cent target originally set.

The scrapping of a wind turbine at the Stratford site was the main reason why the renewables targets would not be met, said the report, insisting that lessons should be learned about the viability of urban renewable electricity generation and the need for long-term planning when contracting for energy infrastructure.

Despite these concerns, the commission's chairman, Shaun McCarthy, said that the watchdog was "reasonably confident" that the ODA and LOCOG will meet their carbon emissions targets by investing in a community energy saving scheme and more aggressive energy reduction targets.

In a blog posted on the commission's web site yesterday, McCarthy hit out at a media report which had suggested that the London 2012 sustainability plan was "in tatters".

"The remainder of the report is very positive. The ODA has done a great job of construction and we were pleased to see government plans to adopt these standards of sustainability through procurement," he said. "This is easier said than done but we welcome the intent."