The ULEZ effect: Diesel fuel sales are falling twice as fast in London

Sadiq Khan’s relentless drive to drive polluting cars off London’s roads using his controversial Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) could be working if fuel sales figures are any indication.

A new report shows that diesel fuel sales in the capital are falling at twice the rate of the rest of the country.

Diesel sales have fallen by almost 40 percent in the past four years, while the average in all other regions has fallen by 20 percent, Transport & Environment says.

The Green Transport campaign group believes ULEZ has also had a ‘positive impact on energy security’ in Britain and called for additional measures to reduce diesel consumption, including accelerating the implementation of the ban on the sale of new oil burners that is currently set for 2035.

T&E UK has analyzed figures for diesel fuel sales in Britain by analyzing data from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

The think tank looked back at the impact of the introduction of ULEZ in April 2019 – and the subsequent effect when the Mayor of London expanded the zone twice to the entire capital.

Khan extended the ULEZ border from the central Congestion Charge Zone to Inner London in October 2021, expanding the zone to an area of ​​3.8 million people.

In August 2023, it expanded again to include all 32 London boroughs, bringing a further five million people within the zone’s limit.

The zone restrictions are much stricter for diesel cars than for equivalent fuel types.

Diesels that don’t meet Euro 6 emissions standards – mainly diesels produced before 2015 – don’t comply, meaning owners will have to pay £12.50 per day every time they drive.

The rules are more favorable to petrol, with cars meeting Euro 4 standards – usually those produced after 2006 – escaping the daily charge. However, MailOnline has found several cases where petrols older than 2006 are compliant based on their NOx emissions – even after Transport for London initially claimed this was not the case.

Those are the stricter rules on diesel cars, which have caused many Londoners – and regular city commuters – to ditch their fuel-powered models, causing demand at petrol stations to fall more dramatically than in the rest of the UK, T&E says. .

This is despite the fact that sales of new diesel cars have fallen from record lows in Britain as a whole over the past decade.

Analysis from This is Money earlier this year found that in 2013, 49.8 percent (yes, half!) of all new cars registered in Britain were diesel.

Fast forward to 2023, official sales figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that only 7.5 percent of new cars were oil burners – that’s less than one in thirteen engines on the road, compared to one in two per year. decade earlier.

T&E says the decline in diesel fuel sales has had a clear impact on air pollution government called it the ‘greatest environmental risk to public health’ in 2022 – And a positive impact on energy security.

‘The UK is a net importer of diesel, meaning money is flowing out of the country to bring in the fuel. As we saw with the energy crisis, the UK has no control over the global wholesale price of fossil fuels, including diesel, and if diesel supply problems were to arise the country could be vulnerable to price spikes and supply shortages’ , the campaign group’s report said.

And it says ULEZ is ‘contributing positively to Britain’s energy security’, with Londoners ‘on course to pay £273m less in diesel costs than they paid in 2022’.

T&E says more low-emission zones are needed

There are already nine vehicle emissions charging zones in cities across England, while Scotland has launched its own low emissions zone in Glasgow, with similar schemes to follow in Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh this year.

T&E says it wants to see more emission zones across the country, due to the impact on shrinking diesel demand in London.

“By replicating low emission zones in cities across the country, we can further secure Britain’s energy,” the report said.

It has singled out Sheffield, Liverpool and Greater Manchester for all having nitrous oxide emissions that exceed legal limits.

All three had previously outlined plans to introduce a clean air zone, but councils have since scrapped the proposals.

“Introducing clean air zone measures in these areas could not only have a positive impact on the health of residents, but would also increase Britain’s energy security,” the green think tank claimed.

‘We want an earlier ban on diesel cars,’ say green transport campaigners

In addition to more clean air zones, T&E believes there should also be targeted programs at national level to reduce diesel consumption.

This includes banning the sale of new diesel cars before the current date of 2035, implementing a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate for trucks to promote the transition to zero-emission trucks, and changing the tax system so that consumers are more likely to choose others. types of vehicles over diesels in the near future.

Matt Finch, UK policy manager at T&E, said: ‘Regardless of the impact of the ULEZ on air pollution, this data shows the remarkable impact that clean air zones can have on energy and trade.

‘Diesel is another dirty fossil fuel that Britain has become dependent on importing, often from countries with undemocratic governments that have a poor human rights record.

‘It would be a smart move to follow London’s example, stop burning imported dirty diesel and switch to using clean British electrons as soon as possible.’

Oliver Lord, head of the Clean Cities Campaign in Britain, added: ‘We have known for years that diesel fumes are ruining our lives, so it is inspiring to see this change in London, but the bottom line is that we are only free can breathe when diesel engines are dumped for good.

“With the right commitment, coordination and leadership from all levels of government, our cities can be nearly diesel-free by 2030, but only if this is accompanied by the support to make that happen, and especially for small businesses.”

But not everyone shares this sentiment.

Motorist, founder of FairFuelUK and Reform UK London mayoral candidate Howard Cox, told This is Money that the “commercial heartbeat of every country’s economy is diesel-powered transport and logistics” and to try to ban them sooner would “not have common sense’. ‘.

Mt Cox added: ‘Over the past decade, truck emissions have more than halved, yet the usually ignorant, ill-informed groups of hate mongers want to hit London businesses hard, hurt struggling motorists and damage the capital’s economy with their actions. eco-zeal.

‘If they had any actual understanding of the internal combustion engine, they would be pushing for the rollout of Euro 7 emissions standards and highly effective fuel catalysts.

“Instead, their solution is to skin drivers in the name of their idealistic green dream.

“They are simply out of touch with the lack of common sense in their naive, horse-and-buggy demands, and the damaging economic impact they will cause.

“They may have to fight to clean up the London Underground, where emissions at platform level are more than 2,000 percent worse than at roadside.”