New report targets transport emissions in Scotland

Asthma + Lung UK Scotland have published a report titled ‘Clearing the Air: Transport + Lung Health’ report, which makes 10 recommendations they believe would decrease the harmful effects of transport in the country.

Among these are suggestions to adopt the 2021 WHO air quality guidelines as legal targets, scrap peak rail fares, increase the fine for vehicle idling and, more significantly, enforce it.

Scotland already has a lower limit for annual mean PM2.5 than England (10μg/m³ compared to 20μg/m³) but the report suggests reducing this further to meet the WHW limit of 5 μg/m³.

Similarly, it suggests lowering the limit for annual mean NO2 from 40μg/m³ to 20μg/m³.

Currently, the report reveals, less than half of monitoring sites would meet the suggested limits for PM2.5 and just over two-thirds would meet them for NO2.

The charity are also concerned by the monitoring network itself, leading them to recommend that the number of automatic monitoring sites across Scotland be increased, with an emphasis on locating then near schools and hospitals. Live data should also be used to alert GP surgeries, hospitals and schools when air quality deteriorates.

The report also takes aim at vehicle idling, revealing that despite 1,158 complaints being made to 20 councils about idling over the last three and a half years, only one fine has actually been issued (by South Lanarkshire Council in 2022).

Asthma + Lung Scotland say of this: ‘We would like to see the Scottish Government update its guidance to reflect public opinion that vehicle idling is a nuisance, harmful to public health and the environment by ensuring that all councils enforce idling bans. We believe that the £20 fixed penalty notice is not a strong deterrent. This should be increased in line with other fixed penalty notices for motoring and environmental offences.’

The ten recommendations are:

1. Legislate to adopt the 2021 World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines as legal targets.
2. Increase the automatic monitoring network across Scotland so that every local authority is accounted for, prioritising areas around schools, hospitals, maternity units and care homes.
3. Improve the alert system using greater monitoring under recommendation 2 so that people with respiratory conditions and other existing health conditions can take action to protect their health during periods of higher air pollution, and GPs, hospitals, schools and care homes are alerted to prepare for exacerbations of people with lung conditions.
4. Scrap peak rail fares beyond the trial ending on 27 September 2024, creating the conditions for more affordable rail travel.
5. Accelerate the roll out of electric trains and buses and reduce the proportion of routes using diesel vehicles.
6. Utilise the powers of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 to support bus travel in underserved communities and create council-run services that are more affordable and accessible.
7. Offer greater incentives of £5,000 or more to purchase new ultra-low emissions vehicles to encourage the phasing out of petrol and diesel
   vehicle sales.
8. Audit the electric vehicle charging network annually to find gaps in supply and demand, reporting when and where anomalies are found in charging point data.
9. Implement Low Emission Zones (LEZ) in further cities and large towns in Scotland and expand the existing LEZ boundaries in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee by 2030.
10. Implement and enforce the ban on vehicle idling across Scotland and increase the fixed penalty notice to act as a greater deterrent.

The full report can be read here.