Diesel Vans Surpass Taxis as Biggest London Polluter
Diesel vans are now the biggest source of harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) in central London, surpassing taxis for the first time.
According to new data from the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (LAEI), vans were shown to emit 108 tonnes of NOx in 2022. This compares with 78 tonnes from taxis and 60 tonnes from cars.
While the lofty figure for diesel vans has reduced since 2019, think tank Clean Cities says it is further evidence that the city should extend a 100 per cent Congestion Charge discount for electric vans run by small businesses and charities.
As it stands, electric vans are exempt from the Congestion Charge – a daily toll which covers eight miles of the London city centre – but this is set to change on 25 December 2025 when a total phase out will begin.
In 2019, taxis were responsible for the highest NOx reading but a widespread electrification of the fleet has brought this number down significantly. Overall, London has reduced its NOx readings by 52 per cent since Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan took office in 2016.
However, London continues to breach both the UK legal limits and tougher World Health Organisation guidelines.
There are concerns nationwide that the slow uptake of electric vans will undermine the government’s efforts to achieve ‘net zero’ by 2030. The government has set a mandated target of 16 per cent of all vans being sold to be electric but this has stalled at around nine per cent seven months into 2025.
Moreover, the decision to scrap the Congestion Charge exemption for electric vans has been viewed as a step backwards in these efforts and lets down those that invested in EV with a view to saving money on entering the capital city.
With modelling predicting that diesel vans will continue to rank as the largest polluters in the capital until at least 2030, calls have been made for exemptions to made for small businesses and charities seeking to reduce costs by choosing electric.
Zak Bond, campaign manager at Clean Cities, said: "This new data shows we need to see much more action to tackle the dirty air coming from vans in our city.
"The mayor of London and London boroughs must act to push forward the use of electric vans and cargo bikes."
Under Transport for London’s (TfL) proposals, electric vans will be permitted towards a discount scheme of 50 per cent. This would reduce the fee from £18 to £9, though would still amount to approximately £2,250 a year in annual running costs based on the average 253 working days in a year should you commute into London city centre on each of them.
TfL has justified the decision to end the exemption as a way to reduce overall congestion in the city centre.
