London Evening Standard

The congestion charging zone should be extended out as far as the North and South circular roads by 2019 to tackle London’s growing air pollution problem, a major study said today.  

Transport for London should look at expanding the zone, which costs £11.50 a day to enter, to merge it with the wider low emissions zones currently in place. 

The major report from independent think tank IPPR said the scheme could be one of the best ways of simultaneously tackling air pollution and congestion as well as raising funds to reinvest in public transport, cycling and walking. 

It warned that without new policies to manage increased congestion, there will be an estimated 43 per cent increase in miles driven between 2013 and 2030, making emissions even worse. 

The death toll in London from air pollution is more than 9,000-a-year and experts are particularly worried about the impact on the health of children. The economic cost is put at £3.7 billion. 

The report, London: Global Green City, said: “The deadly spectre of air pollution has risen once again in the form of invisible pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. 

“This is a public health problem of the highest order and once again London sits on the frontline. London stands at a crossroads, and nothing short of a world-leading transport programme is required.”

It suggested the existing road-pricing schemes - the C-charge and low and ultra-low emissions zones - should be merged into one by 2019, charging vehicles depending on the level of congestion they caused and their levels of emissions 

This zone should be expanded across the whole of inner London - inside the North and South circulars - to maximise its impact, with charging bands that varied according to location and time of day. 

Extending it further would impose large costs on TfL as public transport would have to be upgraded and also on outer Londoners who rely more heavily on their cars than their inner London counterparts. 

The report warned that motorists would have to be well informed in advance, small business given financial help to adapt and freight chains encouraged to deliver outside the morning peak if the scheme were to work. 

The IPPR also suggested setting up a London-wide gas and electricity company, Energy for London, increasing solar capacity in London to the equivalent of a medium-sized power station by 2025 and retrofitting more of the capital’s homes and offices.

A separate campaign for London to become the world’s first National Park City received a boost when the report said the move could encourage conservation and better green space and biodiversity. 

It called for the next mayor to appoint a green infrastructure tsar to protect and enhance nature in the capital, with a longer term goal of making sure every Londoner lives within one_kilometre of open green space.