Local Action, National Measures, International Problems

摘要

Under the Local Air Quality Management regime, many local authorities will, by October this year, find themselves having to produce action plans aimed at achieving the air quality objectives within Air Quality Management Areas. In effect, this will mean reducing traffic pollution, despite having a relatively limited range of measures at their disposal. By the Government's own admission, the expected improvements in vehicle and fuel technology will not, on their own, be enough to deliver clean air across the UK. So the Transport Bill currently before Parliament is an opportunity to give LAs some additional powers to tackle pollution hotspots. A wide range of authorities are now considering the idea of Low Emission Zones, which seek to reduce emissions from road vehicles by encouraging the use of cleaner vehicles, or reducing the number of vehicles overall. Research by the NSCA Cleaner Transport Forum has shown that there is considerable potential for such zones to contribute to improving air quality. A second important area is that of Roadside Emission Testing. Seven local authorities have been piloting roadside testing using a fixed penalty scheme, and the Government will shortly announce whether the scheme is to be extended to other authorities.