{"id":1118126,"date":"2026-07-29T13:16:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T13:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1118126\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T13:16:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T13:16:22","slug":"cleaning-up-londons-air-pollution-could-prevent-44000-premature-deaths-by-2050","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1118126\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleaning up London’s air pollution could prevent 44,000 premature deaths by 2050"},"content":{"rendered":"

While City Hall has made progress on air quality in recent years the capital still lags behind other UK cities, reports Kumail Jaffer, Local Democracy Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"River<\/p>\n

Further investment in cleaning up London\u2019s air could see 44,000 fewer premature deaths and \u00a32.2billion added to the capital\u2019s economy by 2050, new research has estimated.<\/p>\n

Reaching \u2018net zero\u2019 \u2013 defined as cutting emissions to a low enough level that any man-made activity does not add to the atmosphere \u2013 through decarbonisation across transport, buildings, industry and power generation would deliver major health and economic gains across the UK.<\/p>\n

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has laid out a \u201cbalanced pathway\u201d plan to achieve this by 2050, which the government has a legal duty to adhere to.<\/p>\n

A new report published by Clean Air Fund, with research commissioned from CBI Economics and WSP, says sticking to the target will yield significant benefits for London in particular.<\/p>\n

Despite nitrogen dioxide pollution (NO2) falling to within legal limits for the first time since records began last October, the capital\u2019s baseline pollution levels are still far higher than other UK cities.<\/p>\n

Recent figures from the Geographic Data Service also show that all of the most polluted areas of the country are in London, and an area in Camden covering parts of Holborn, St Giles, and Covent Garden is the most polluted neighbourhood nationally.<\/p>\n

Residents there are breathing in an annual average of nearly 21 micrograms of fine particulate matter and more than 34 micrograms of NO2. The World Health Organization recommends levels should not exceed an annual average of five micrograms of PM2.5 and 15 micrograms of NO2.<\/p>\n

For these reasons, the \u2018clean air dividend\u2019 is \u201cmore concentrated\u201d in the city, the authors of the Clean Air Fund report said, meaning London will see greater benefit from cleaning up its act than other areas.<\/p>\n

They added: \u201cLondon\u2019s elevated baseline pollution levels mean that the health and economic returns from reducing emissions are proportionally greater than for the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n

Predictive modelling estimates that London will see 533,000 life-years gained, including nine million additional working days \u2013 a significant boost to the city\u2019s productivity.<\/p>\n

Nick Smith, Clean Air Fund\u2019s head of UK Portfolio, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): \u201cWe looked at if the UK follows through with their net zero plans, what the impact would be on air quality and then quantifying that in terms of air quality and health quality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a significant improvement shown to both health and the economy. It would improve workforce health, extend working lives and reduce illness-related absences. In London, we\u2019ve found that there is a really significant impact due to high pollution levels, meaning it really feels the benefits. \u201d<\/p>\n

Sir Sadiq Khan has made cleaning up London\u2019s air a key policy tenet during his decade in City Hall.<\/p>\n

This includes implementing measures such as the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (Ulez), Congestion Charge and an overall push towards active travel and public transport instead of private car usage.<\/p>\n

In 2016, leading experts at King\u2019s College London estimated that without additional action it would take 193 years for London to meet legal NO2 limits, but City Hall was able to bring levels down to the necessary amount within nine years.<\/p>\n

However, campaigners say he can still go further yet. In May Khan admitted that London would not be a net zero city by 2030, an aim laid out in 2020, partly due to a lack of devolved control over the capital\u2019s energy grid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mayor has shown really strong leadership on this issue and has delivered good results,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s due to a range of policies and measures, including Ulez, which has been really transformative, and electrification of the bus and taxi fleet. He has also invested heavily in expanding cycling infrastructure. The public health outcomes are compelling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe job isn\u2019t done \u2013 there is still more that can be done, and pollution levels are still above safe levels. Where he could go further is with vans and freights \u2013 the uptake of electric vans has been slower than other types of vehicles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWood burning also remains an issue in London, but that is difficult to control. City Hall and local authorities are limited in what they could do.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to be mindful of that \u2013 we are seeing that these effects are happening, and are managing this. Further focus and action is needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Khan told the LDRS: \u201cThe bold action taken by the Mayor in London has reduced pollution, improved public health, and saved lives. This report underlines the importance of improving air quality and supports the mayor\u2019s decision to expand Ulez London-wide, where the evidence shows that it was crucial to protect the health and lives of Londoners.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is more work to do \u2013 long-term exposure to air pollution was still estimated to contribute to up to 5,100 premature deaths across London in 2024. The mayor remains committed to taking bold action to tackle air pollution and to protect the health of all Londoners as we continue to build a greener, fairer city for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

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More Information about donations<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While City Hall has made progress on air quality in recent years the capital still lags behind other…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1118127,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7757],"tags":[854,748,26387,2311,393,728,4884,257,3739,14252,16,15],"class_list":["post-1118126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-air-pollution","tag-britain","tag-city-hall","tag-climate-change","tag-england","tag-environment","tag-great-britain","tag-london","tag-net-zero","tag-sadiq-khan","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117003461032896736","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1118126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1118126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1118126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1118127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1118126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1118126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1118126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}