Agenda item

The movers accepted an amendment deleting the originally published text and inserting the wording shown below The motion was moved by Councillor Walsh and seconded by Councillor

Smith.

There was then a debate to which Councillor Coughlin contributed.

The motion was then put to the vote and declared to be unanimously carried.

RESOLVED that the following motion be agreed:

Amendment Proposed by Councillor Walsh and Seconded by Councillor

Smith.

Delete all and insert:-

“This Council believes:

1. Boris Johnson as Mayor of London has consistently failed to deal with

London’s illegal level of air quality; the situation is so dire now that London

breached its annual air pollution limits within the first week of 2016.

2. That alongside CO2 emissions from all motor vehicles being dangerous to

health, particulates and Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions from diesel vehicles

cause or exacerbate a significant majority of respiration related health issues

in London.

3. Most new petrol vehicles are equal to diesel for CO2 emissions, but diesel

emissions are significantly more damaging to health than emissions from

petrol vehicles. The vast majority of petrol vehicles emit less harmful

emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) than even the newest diesel vehicles.

4. That as a Council we should support and where possible incentivise local

residents in taking positive action to improve our collective environment and

health.

5. Finally, this Council recognises that our action on its own cannot tackle the

problem of air quality and for this, or any, council to succeed, our policies

must be backed up by strong national legislation and the political will of the

national government.

This Council notes:

1. A recent air quality analysis of Lewisham was undertaken and presented to

the January 2015 Sustainable Development Committee by the London Air

Quality Network, that highlighted the particulate (PM10/2.5) impacts and hot-

spots across the Borough, and noted the areas where the levels was above

the EU-wide legal maxima

2. Diesel emissions have been linked to cancer, heart and lung damage, in

addition to a range of other health issues. The World Health Organisation has

classified diesel emissions as carcinogenic.

3. That air pollution is an equality factor, where the poorest in our Borough are

more likely to feel the effects of it than their better off counterparts.

4. A report commissioned by the GLA last year found that nearly 9,500 people

die prematurely each year because of the capital’s dirty air. An ultra-low

emissions zone is due to begin in 2020 in London to help tackle the problem –

almost 60,000 lives later. Compliance should have been achieved by 2010,

and the Supreme Court ruled that compliance had to be achieved as soon as

possible.

5.  The UK has been in breach of EU NO2 pollution limits for five years now

and again last spring was ordered by the Supreme Court to publish an action

plan on how to tackle this major health crisis. The resulting government plan

was published in December, but London, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool,

Cardiff and Edinburgh and other major cities will still be in breach of NO2

limits for at least another five years, despite the new measures.

This Council resolves

1. To demand that the next Mayor of London takes this issue seriously, and to

write to the new Mayor of London & the Government Minister for them to look

at how they can speed up plans to reduce this issue, and to put the case

forward for a strategy that includes incentivising owners of polluting privately-

owned passenger cars to change their vehicles.

2. To take responsibility for saving Lewisham lives, where the current Mayor

of London hasn’t, by investigating how we as a Council can play our part

locally through exploring and bringing forward our own action plan including an impact study of how to incentivise drivers through reductions in Council

parking charges (and other means) for less particulate NOx & CO2 polluting

vehicles, for scrutiny by the Council, and consultation with local residents.”