London doctors lead campaign for ban on diesel engines in the city
Doctors, nurses, health professionals and medical students in London, UK are leading a campaign calling for all diesel engines to be banned in the city.
The Doctors Against Diesel campaign claim that 9,400 Londoners a year die prematurely from breathing in toxic fumes from diesel engines. But opponents of the campaign have called the proposals “impractical” and warned a blanket ban could “backfire”.
The campaign is calling for Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, to commit to phasing out diesel vehicles from London. Khan has already said he wants to get rid of diesel buses by 2018.
Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens have committed to a ban on diesel vehicles by 2025.
A spokesman for the mayor said he has no legal powers to ban cars in London and is calling on the government “to face its responsibility and implement a national diesel scrap page scheme now”.
“The mayor has more than doubled air quality funding and is doing everything in his power to tackle London’s toxic air and rid the city of the most polluting vehicles, but he cannot do this alone” the spokesman added.
According to the campaign, nearly 40% of all nitrogen oxides emissions and PM10 pollution, which is linked to decreased lung function, within London comes from diesel vehicles.
Fatalities from pediatric asthma are disproportionately much higher in London compared to the rest of Europe, said Professor Jonathan Grigg from Doctors Against Diesel, adding that air pollution in London exceed the legal limit and is affecting people’s health at every stage of life.
Transport for London, a local government body responsible for the transport system in Greater London, is currently consulting on proposals to improve air quality in the capital.
