THE ULEZ EFFECT: DIESEL FUEL SALES FALL TWICE AS FAST IN LONDON
- Diesel fuel sales down 20% across UK since 2020; fallen by 40% in London
- Transport & Environment has lauded the impact of Sadiq Khan's ULEZ scheme
- Green group calls for more emission zones and earlier ban on new diesel cars
Sadiq Khan's relentless drive to force polluting cars off London's roads using his controversial Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) may be working if fuel sales figures are any indication.
A new report found that diesel fuel sales in the capital are falling at twice the pace of the rest of the country.
Sales of diesel have fallen by almost 40 per cent over the past four years, while the average across all other regions is has declined by 20 per cent, says Transport & Environment.
The green transport campaign group believes ULEZ has also had a 'positive impact on energy security' in the UK and called for additional measures to reduce diesel consumption, including fast-tracking the ban on sales of new oil burners currently set for 2035.
T&E UK crunched the numbers on diesel fuel sales in the UK by analysing data held by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The think tank looked back to the impact of the introduction of ULEZ in April 2019 - and the effect thereafter as the London Mayor expanded the zone twice to cover all of the capital.
Khan extended the ULEZ border from the central Congestion Charge Zone to Inner London in October 2021, increasing the zone to cover an area containing 3.8 million people.
In August 2023, it grew again to encompass all 32 London boroughs, bringing an additional five million people into the zone's limit.
Restrictions for the zone are far harsher on diesel cars than its equivalent fuel types.
Diesels that fails to meet Euro 6 emissions standards - essentially those produced before 2015 - are not compliant, meaning owners need to pay £12.50 a day each time they drive.
The rules are more favourable to petrols, with cars adhering to Euro 4 standards - usually those produced after 2006 - escaping the daily charge. However, MailOnline has found various instances where petrols older than 2006 are compliant based on their NOx emissions - even after Transport for London initially claimed they were not.
Such are the tougher rules for diesel cars that many Londoners - and regular commuters into the city - have ditched their models running on the fuel, which has seen demand at filling stations fall more dramatically than it has across the rest of the UK, T&E says.
That's despite sales on new diesel cars falling off a cliff edge in Britain as a whole over the last decade.
Analysis by This is Money earlier this year revealed that in 2013 49.8 per cent [yes, half!] of all new cars registered in the UK were diesels.
Fast-forward to 2023, and official sales figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that a mere 7.5 per cent of new cars were oil burners – that's fewer than one in 13 motors entering the road, down from one in two a decade earlier.
T&E says the decline in the sale of diesel fuel has had a marked impact on air pollution - which the government in 2022 called the 'largest environmental risk to public health' - and a positive impact on energy security.
'The UK is a net importer of diesel, meaning money is flowing out of the country in order to bring the fuel in. As we saw with the energy crisis, the UK has no control over the global wholesale price of fossil fuels, including diesel, and if problems were to arise with diesel supply the country could be vulnerable to price spikes and shortage of supply,' the campaign group's report said,
And it says ULEZ is 'positively contributing to the UK’s energy security', with Londoners 'on course to pay £273million less in diesel costs than they paid in 2022'.
T&E says more low emission zones are needed
Already, there are nine vehicle emission charging zones in place in cities across England, while Scotland has launched its own Low Emission 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, following the impact on shrinking diesel demand in London.
'By replicating low emissions zones in cities throughout the country, we could further secure the UK’s energy,' it said.
It earmarked Sheffield, Liverpool, and Greater Manchester for all having nitrous oxide emissions that are beyond legal limits.
All three had previously outlined plans for introducing 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 residents’ health, but would also enhance the UK's energy security,' the green think tank claimed.
'We want an earlier ban on diesel cars,' green transport campaigners say
As well as more clean air zones, T&E says there should be targeted national-level schemes to focused on reducing diesel consumption.
This includes banning the sale of new diesel cars before the current 2035 date, implementing a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate on HGVs to promote the transition to zero-emission trucks, and changing the tax system so consumers are more likely to choose other 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 clean air zones can have on energy and trade.
'Diesel is another dirty fossil fuel that the UK has found itself reliant on imports for, often from countries with undemocratic Governments that have poor human rights records.
'The smart move would be to follow London’s lead, stop burning imported dirty diesel and switch to using clean British electrons as quickly as possible.'
Oliver Lord, UK head of the Clean Cities Campaign, added: 'We’ve known for years that diesel fumes are ruining our lives so it’s inspiring to see this change in London, but the bottom line is we won’t breathe freely until diesel engines are ditched for good.
'With the right commitment, coordination and leadership from all levels of government our cities can be almost free of diesel by 2030, but only when coupled with the support to make that happen and especially for small businesses.'
But not everyone shares this sentiment.
Motoring campaigner, founder of FairFuelUK and Reform UK London mayoral candidate, Howard Cox, told This is Money that the 'commercial heartbeat of any nation's economy is diesel-fuelled transport and logistics' and to attempt to outlaw them sooner would 'lacks any common sense'.
Mt Cox added: 'In the last decade, HGV emissions have more than halved, but still, the usual clueless ill-informed hate driver groups want to hit London businesses hard, hurt struggling motorists in the pocket, and damage the Capital’s economy with their eco zealotry.
'If they had any factual understanding of the internal combustion engine, they’d be pushing for Euro 7 emission standards and highly effective fuel catalysts to be rolled out.
'Instead, their solution is to fleece drivers in the name of their idealistic green pipedream.
'They simply are out of touch with the lack of any common sense in their naïve, back-to-horse and cart demands, and the harmful economic impact they will wreak.
'Perhaps they should be fighting to clean up London’s Underground where at platform level emissions are over 2,000 per cent worse than at the roadside.'
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