The principal driver of air pollution in London is road transport and, within that, diesel vehicles. Nearly 40 per cent of all NOx emissions within London come from diesel vehicles, and unless this is explicitly tackled it will be impossible to cleanse London’s air. New modelling by King’s College London commissioned for this report estimates that policies bringing the level of diesel cars in inner London down to 5 per cent of the fleet, and increasing cleaner alternatives across other vehicle types, would bring 99.96 per cent of London into compliance with legal levels on NO2. The central conclusion of this report is therefore that London must progressively phase-out diesel
vehicles over the next decade and beyond in order to reduce air pollution levels down to legal and ultimately healthier levels.