SCOPE I City pollution
Clean up your fleet or clear out With air pollution causing consternation in city halls across Europe the emissions performance of your company van fleet could soon become a bigger issue than you ever imagined. We look through the haze and see what’s on the horizon.
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n December 4th 1952 the wind dropped over the UK city of London and a thick fog began to form. When the air began to clear five days later, the city started to count the cost. In under a week the smog had caused the deaths of four thousand people, and in the weeks that followed the death toll topped eight thousand. This death rate, similar to London’s cholera epidemic of 1854 and influenza epidemic of 1918, was too much for the public to take. Politicians were forced by the populous to take action and the first Clean Air Act came into force in 1956. That’s the history lesson over and done with, but it’s not the end of the story. Today, London, at ground level, may appear to be smog free, but there’s an invisible killer in the air. Concentrations of nitrous oxide (NO) and particulate matter (PM10) have reached such levels that the city is once again is recording thousands of pre-mature deaths. European problem London should not be singled out as Europe’s dirty demon. Earlier this year Parisians wheezed as the city, cloaked in polluting smog, initiated transport restrictions in an effort to help clear the air.
to be in the range of 330-940 billion per year. Yes, you read that right. With the situation especially severe in urban areas it’s not surprising that politicians are once again being pressured by the public to find a solution. Fleets in the firing line All very interesting you may say, but what’s it got to do with corporate fleets and LCVs? Well, the primary cause of pesky air pollutants causing the problem is transport. And on top of that, the fuel that’s most polluting is diesel. Our seemingly insatiable appetite for material things means more internet firms than ever are delivering stuff to office receptions and homes. Then add in all those service vehicles and it’s clear why the rising number of vans is causing administrators to curse. In an effort to tackle polluting diesel engines, Europe’s cities are hybridising their bus fleets and encouraging – in some case mandating - all electric taxi fleets. The next natural target for special treatment in the war against air pollution is the van. © Getty Images
Paris clearly has its air quality problems. So too do the cities of Brussels, Berlin and Barcelona. Poor air quality has become such an issue that the European Commission has been forced to take legal action against 18 member states for serious air quality breeches. How dangerous is dirty air? How dangerous is a little bit of pollution? Air quality is the number one environmental cause of premature death in the EU. To put that into perspective more people die from breathing the air than lose their lives in road traffic collisions. From a fiscal perspective the external health-related costs to society from air pollution alone are estimated
The London Smog in 1952. Thousands of citizens died.
FLEET EUROPE # 71
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