New London-wide emissions standards for heavy vehicles have been introduced today.
Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs), buses and coaches must now meet Euro VI (NOx and PM) emissions standards or pay a daily charge of up to £300 to enter London’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ).
These new standards apply to heavy vehicles across most of Greater London and match the emission standards of the central London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
The LEZ was set up to encourage the most polluting heavy diesel vehicles driving in the capital to become cleaner. It covers most of Greater London and operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
New data from City Hall shows compliance with the new standards is nearly at 90%, compared to around 70% in May 2019.
Earlier this year Transport for London (TfL) announced that its entire 9,000-strong core bus fleet complied with the LEZ standards, and now meets or exceeds the cleanest Euro VI emissions standards.
Alex Williams, TfL’s director of city planning, said: “The introduction of these tighter standards for heavy vehicles and the expansion of the ULEZ will significantly reduce harmful emissions within the M25.
“We have been working closely with the freight industry to prepare them for the launch of a stronger Low Emission Zone. They have responded magnificently, showing their commitment to a green recovery, with the vast majority now meeting these world-leading environmental requirements.”
The introduction of tougher standards for the LEZ, alongside the expansion of the ULEZ later this year, is expected to reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions from road transport by around 30% across London in 2021.
Furthermore, from today new, tougher standards for construction machinery covered by London mayor Sadiq Khan’s Non-Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM) LEZ will also be enforced.
NRMM includes mobile machines, and transportable industrial equipment or vehicles fitted with an internal combustion engine and not intended for transporting goods or passengers on roads.
It uses the mayor and London Borough’s planning powers to control emissions from NRMM used on construction sites.
In a similar way to the ULEZ the NRMM LEZ requires that all engines with a power rating between 37kW and 560kW meet an emission standard based on the engine emission ‘stage’.
The standards that need to be met depend on where the construction site is. The current standards are stage IV for construction machinery operating in the Central Activities Zone and Opportunity Areas (including Canary Wharf) and stage IIIB in the rest of London.
Stages IIIB and IV have not been defined for machines with constant speed engines, such as generators. This means that these machines will need to meet stage V.
Stage IV has also not been directly defined for variable speed engines smaller than 56kW. In most cases these engines will need to meet stage V if they are in the Central Activities Zone and Opportunity Areas.
