A Holyrood Committee has outlined a number of recommendations in order for Scotland to try to achieve the cleanest air in Europe. Lothian’s Green MSPs are calling for action to tackle concerns raised in the committee’s report.
The Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee has published its Air Quality report yesterday following an inquiry into the Scottish Government’s strategy to tackle harmful emissions and how well this fits into the overall plans to cut pollution in the UK and EU.
Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee Convener, Graeme Dey MSP, said: “Poor air quality remains an issue in a number of our towns and cities across Scotland, and effective change is needed now so that all of us can breathe clean air and lead healthy lives in the future.
“While we recognise that the Scottish Government has ambitious targets to tackle pollution, we have questions on whether the necessary support is going to be in place to achieve these.
“For example, while we support low emission zones and the phasing out of polluting cars to stop toxic and traffic-choked streets, we are seeking clarity on how this will be delivered.”
Some of the key findings in the report include…
Diesel cars
- Emissions from diesel cars is one of the major contributors to poor air quality and the Committee supports the decision to phase out petrol, diesel cars and vans by 2032.
- But the Scottish Government must provide a clear timeline for how it intends to reach this commitment, including any regulations or incentives.
Low emission zones (LEZs)
- The Committee supports LEZs but it has concerns on the tight timescale to get these up and running.
- It also questions whether local authorities have the technical and financial resources to ensure they are fully operational by 2018 and beyond.
- The Committee believes that private cars should be included in LEZs, in order to fully contribute to improvements in air quality.
Transport and active travel
- The decrease in passenger numbers on buses over the 5 years is concerning. While access to buses, particularly in rural communities, touches on wider issues, the affordability, availability and accessibility of buses is a significant contributor to helping people leave their cars at home.
- To meet air quality and wider climate change targets, increasing the number of journeys by bike to 10% and beyond is necessary. The Scottish Government should complete a full review of why the percentage of journeys only rose by 0.2% between 2010 and 2016.
Green MSPs for Lothian, Alison Johnstone and Andy Wightman, are urging action on Low Emissions Zones and investment in safer streets in light of a major report into air pollution (above).
Holyrood’s Environment Committee has expressed concern about the Scottish Government’s “direction of travel, rate of change and action on the ground”.
Across the Lothian region at present there are a total of 10 air quality management areas, where public health is being harmed by vehicle emissions.
The report expresses concerns about the timescales for Low Emissions Zones and questions whether local authorities have the technical and financial resources to ensure they are fully operational by the end of this year.
Alison Johnstone said: “Air pollution remains a silent killer for thousands of people in Scotland, and is clearly a problem in many parts of the Lothian region. Unless we can get to grips with dramatically increasing walking and cycling, delivering clean bus services and tackling car growth then we will continue to see a public health crisis.”
Andy Wightman added: “Recent government commitments to deliver Low Emission Zones have come late and there is a danger local councils will struggle to implement them in time to meet 2020 legal targets, unless they are ambitious and include private cars.
“We have to make our urban areas attractive and pollution free zones where walking and cycling comes naturally. That means putting in place the right cycling infrastructure, reducing traffic speed and planning the growth of urban areas to reduce the need to travel.”
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