Skip to main content

For better air quality ‘cities need to turn to gas powered trucks and buses’

The UK’s cities are under unprecedented pressure to improve air quality, as Supreme Court justices in London order that air quality plans to comply with European Union (EU) law on limits for nitrogen dioxide (NOx) in the air must be submitted to the European Commission no later than 31 December 2015. The case was brought by ClientEarth, a group of lawyers dedicated to environmental issues, which says the ruling means the Government must start work on a comprehensive plan to meet pollution limits as soon
May 1, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The UK’s cities are under unprecedented pressure to improve air quality, as Supreme Court justices in London order that air quality plans to comply with 1816 European Union (EU) law on limits for nitrogen dioxide (NOx) in the air must be submitted to the 1690 European Commission no later than 31 December 2015.

The case was brought by ClientEarth, a group of lawyers dedicated to environmental issues, which says the ruling means the Government must start work on a comprehensive plan to meet pollution limits as soon as possible. Among the measures that that it must consider are low emission zones, congestion charging and other economic incentives.

ClientEarth is calling for action to clean up the worst polluting diesel vehicles, including through a national network of low emission zones.

Gas expert John Baldwin, managing director of CNG Services, says in response: “Thousands of people are dying of poor air quality ever year. As we speak in 16 cities are breaching legal limits for NOx, much of which comes from diesel engines; trucks and buses.

“Rather than look to increasing congestion charges or controlling where vehicles can go, why aren’t we using gas powered vehicles? A recent report from Energy & Utility Skills has shown that gas will give us significant greenhouse gas reductions as well as getting rid of hazardous NOx and particulate matter, which can kill.”

“We’ve got the technology here now. The big plus about gas engines is not only do they produce fewer NOx emissions and virtually eliminate emissions of particulates; they are also 50 per cent quieter than normal diesel engines. This means gas trucks are ideal for making night-time deliveries. ”

“Gas isn’t the future, it’s here now – we’ve got the vehicles and we can deliver fuel through our extensive gas grid – all we need is the political will to make it happen and save lives.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Rethink required to reduce road transport’s environmental impact
    March 15, 2016
    Against a background of a renewed focus on limiting the rise in average temperatures, Colin Sowman looks at a project that is taking a holistic approach to the environmental impact and safety of road transport. At the COP21 meeting in Paris last December, almost 200 nations agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to keep the rise in global temperatures to 2°C) compared with pre-industrial levels. The transportation sector is a major contributor to the production of CO2, one of the main green
  • VW faces first legal test case over emissions in Germany
    January 6, 2017
    German consumer rights champion myRight filed the first legal test case against Volkswagen (VW) in Germany on Tuesday, raising pressure on the carmaker to compensate customers in Europe over the emissions scandal, according to Reuters. VW has pledged billions to compensate US owners of its diesel-powered cars, but has so far rejected any compensation for the 8.5 million affected vehicles in Europe where different legal rules weaken the chances of affected customers winning a pay-out. Instead, VW is in
  • Cities get road priorities right
    March 22, 2022
    Cities including Paris, Milan and London have all announced serious expansions to their bicycling infrastructure over the last few years. The era of active travel is here, finds Alan Dron
  • Trials of new technologies to counter age-old work zone challenges
    May 19, 2017
    New solutions are being used to improve the management and safety of work zones on roads both big and small, as Jon Masters discovers. The UK government has recently been going to some lengths to paint a picture of a nation embracing a future of digital technology – understandably given the economic concerns arising from exiting the European Union. In December last year, however, the UK National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) put down a somewhat different marker for where the UK is now in terms of mobile c