Skip to main content

NGV Network calls on new metro mayors to tackle air pollution

The Natural Gas Vehicle Network (NGVN) has called on the newly elected mayors of UK combined authorities to make tackling air pollution central to their work in the coming three years. It says the new mayors in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City Region, the Tees Valley, the West of England and Cambridgeshire could play a vital role in this effort by bringing various stakeholders together with a common goal: improving their regions’ air for the good of all of their residents. Recognisi
May 18, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The Natural Gas Vehicle Network (NGVN) has called on the newly elected mayors of UK combined authorities to make tackling air pollution central to their work in the coming three years. It says the new mayors in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City Region, the Tees Valley, the West of England and Cambridgeshire could play a vital role in this effort by bringing various stakeholders together with a common goal: improving their regions’ air for the good of all of their residents.


Recognising the importance of freight transport in keeping their regions, and their inhabitants, fully provided for, there is a challenge not only to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but also to improving air quality too, with the latter being a particular problem for inner cities.

Specific attention is needed to clean up HGVs, one of the most vital yet most polluting types of vehicle for cities. HGVs are estimated to account for 16% of UK road transport GHGs emissions, 21 per cent of road transport nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions but make up just five per cent of vehicle miles travelled and less than two per cent of vehicles on the road. Their disproportionate environmental impact suggests it is an area ripe for action.

Mike Foster, CEO of NGVN, said, “Progress on cleaning up Britain’s air and helping fleet operators transition to cleaner vehicles has been unacceptably slow for too long. We know this is a problem which crosses local authority boundaries which is why the new combined authority mayors will hold such a unique and vital role in driving improvements in air quality.”

Related Content

  • US ITS systems approach critical decision time
    February 6, 2012
    Connie Sorrell, chair of the ITS America Annual Meeting and Exposition, explains why ITS in America is approaching a critical crossroads
  • US ITS systems approach critical decision time
    February 3, 2012
    Connie Sorrell, chair of the ITS America Annual Meeting and Exposition, explains why ITS in America is approaching a critical crossroads. Connie Sorrell, as Chief of Systems Operations for the Virginia Department of Transportation, doesn't normally speak in hyperbole, but she can't help but be enthusiastic about this year's ITS America's annual meeting in the nation's capitol, 1-3 June, 2009. Certainly, as Chair of the 2009 ITS America Annual Meeting and Exposition, like everyone who has performed this impo
  • Emovis’ 5-step guide to educating drivers on road usage charging
    October 31, 2023
    If people don’t understand the benefits of road usage charging, then it is unlikely to have public support. Scott Jacobs of Emovis outlines ways in which key messages – particularly on fairness - can be put across
  • San Jose implements Intel technology for a smarter city
    June 13, 2014
    In the US, the city of San José and Intel are collaborating to further the city's Green Vision initiative with the use of Intel technology. The pilot program, known as Smart Cities USA, is Intel's first smart city implementation in the United States and is intended to improve air and water quality, reduce noise pollution, and increase transportation efficiency. According to Intel, the scalability of its architecture provides the intelligence and flexibility necessary for cities to quickly deploy a range