Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Improving Air Quality
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Since the City of London central area is slightly more than one square mile,
it is very easy to walk to destinations in this area. Thus, arriving by bus or
train and then walking to a final destination works well for many people.
There is an ongoing effort to improve the conditions for walking, including
improving air quality.
Trucks that need to deliver products to the City of London can do so
without emissions if the trucks are zero- emission vehicles. One of the ongoing
concerns with diesel trucks is idling. This problem can be eliminated by
restricting diesel trucks from entering the City of London.
Finally, emissions from buildings have been identified because they impact
air quality and the effort to reduce carbon emissions. Buildings owned by the
city are included in the air quality improvement plan. There is an educational
effort to enable facilities managers to reduce emissions.
The London Local Air Quality Management plan includes continuing
efforts to monitor and assess air pollution by having Air Quality Management
Areas wherever regulations are not being met, implementing and following
the current action plan, updating the plan every five years or less, and
publishing annual reports on progress (Simons, 2019). Although central
London is just one city, it is shaping up as a key proving ground for many
programs to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Effective
methods that have been worked out in London can then provide a set of
blueprints for other cities in the United Kingdom and beyond.
Children’s respiratory health is one of the significant concerns in urban
areas with poor air quality. The impact of the low emission zone in central London on children’s lung health was investigated from 2009 to 2014.
Lung volume is smaller in children that are impacted by high nitrogen
oxide concentrations and high concentrations of particulates (PM2.5 and
PM10). Forced vital lung capacity was found to be inversely proportional
to concentrations of nitrogen oxides and particulates (Mudway et al., 2019).
However, there was not a significant correlation between forced expiratory
lung volume and nitrogen oxide concentrations. There was no evidence of a
decrease in the proportion of children with small lungs over the time period
of the experiment (Mudway et al., 2019).
13.4 Norway
Norway is a small country with about 5 million people that is fully developed
and has some inherent options for renewable energy due to its location. It is
also a country that has done far more than just take advantage of those natural options. Norway has implemented a number of incentives to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.
Oslo is the largest city, with about 670,000 people, and it has the highest
concentrations of PM2.5 and nitrogen oxides (NEA, 2018). The most important
124
1 2 4
Since the City of London central area is slightly more than one square mile,
it is very easy to walk to destinations in this area. Thus, arriving by bus or
train and then walking to a final destination works well for many people.
There is an ongoing effort to improve the conditions for walking, including
improving air quality.
Trucks that need to deliver products to the City of London can do so
without emissions if the trucks are zero- emission vehicles. One of the ongoing
concerns with diesel trucks is idling. This problem can be eliminated by
restricting diesel trucks from entering the City of London.
Finally, emissions from buildings have been identified because they impact
air quality and the effort to reduce carbon emissions. Buildings owned by the
city are included in the air quality improvement plan. There is an educational
effort to enable facilities managers to reduce emissions.
The London Local Air Quality Management plan includes continuing
efforts to monitor and assess air pollution by having Air Quality Management
Areas wherever regulations are not being met, implementing and following
the current action plan, updating the plan every five years or less, and
publishing annual reports on progress (Simons, 2019). Although central
London is just one city, it is shaping up as a key proving ground for many
programs to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Effective
methods that have been worked out in London can then provide a set of
blueprints for other cities in the United Kingdom and beyond.
Children’s respiratory health is one of the significant concerns in urban
areas with poor air quality. The impact of the low emission zone in central London on children’s lung health was investigated from 2009 to 2014.
Lung volume is smaller in children that are impacted by high nitrogen
oxide concentrations and high concentrations of particulates (PM2.5 and
PM10). Forced vital lung capacity was found to be inversely proportional
to concentrations of nitrogen oxides and particulates (Mudway et al., 2019).
However, there was not a significant correlation between forced expiratory
lung volume and nitrogen oxide concentrations. There was no evidence of a
decrease in the proportion of children with small lungs over the time period
of the experiment (Mudway et al., 2019).
13.4 Norway
Norway is a small country with about 5 million people that is fully developed
and has some inherent options for renewable energy due to its location. It is
also a country that has done far more than just take advantage of those natural options. Norway has implemented a number of incentives to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.
Oslo is the largest city, with about 670,000 people, and it has the highest
concentrations of PM2.5 and nitrogen oxides (NEA, 2018). The most important