Cleaner air for us all: the biggest legacy of Khan's eight years

With just over a week to go until the mayoral election, the Standard continues its audit of Sadiq Khan’s record. Today City Hall Editor Ross Lydall looks at how his transport policies have affected the capital’s environment

 

ADIQ KHAN likes to portray himself as the "greenest mayor ever". But how much of a difference has his flagship policy, the Ulez, made to air quality? Has its controversial expansion to the Greater London boundary last August put his re-election in jeopardy? Could the Silvertown tunnel open up a new battle with the capital's drivers?

Is the air cleaner?

 Yes. The London Air website, run by Imperial College, showed the capital covered in more than 50 red dots in 2016 areas where pollution exceeded the recommended limits. By last year there were 12.

The Clean Air in London campaign group was so impressed it gave Mr Khan an A-rating for clean air in his second term - making him the first mayor to achieve the top score.

Transport for London's target is to reduce roadside nitrogen dioxide by 60 to 70 per cent between 2016 and 2040.

By 2022 prior to the Greater London Ulez - this had been reduced by 58 per cent (from 92 μg/m3 - micrograms per cubic metre in 2016 to 39 µg/m3) in central London, and by 47 per cent in inner London (the boundary of the North and South circulars, from 61 μg/m3 to 32 µg/m3).

What impact has the London-wide Ulez had on air quality? We won't know until after the election, when TfL will publish its first official figures. Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall, who wants to scrap the expansion, has accused Mr Khan of "hiding" the data.

But Clean Air in London has looked at provisional data from 16 air quality monitors in outer London and says nitrogen dioxide levels appear to be "significantly lower. The data, which is unverified, could also have been influenced by factors such as the weather or cleaner buses. A 90 per cent fall in Londoners buying new diesel cars will also have made a difference.