Edinburgh LEZ launched 01-06-24: Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop speaks on her hopes for the scheme, along with Gareth Brown of Asthma + Lung UK Scotland and Edinburgh transport convener Scott Arthur
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00:00 Edinburgh's low emission zone came into force just after midnight on Saturday June 1st.
00:07 It means that vehicles which do not meet the strict emission standards can no longer drive
00:12 in a 1.2 square mile area of the city centre, and motorists face potentially hefty fines
00:17 if they ignore the ban. Transport Secretary Fiona Hislop joined council leaders near the
00:23 meadows to launch the scheme.
00:25 Well we know air quality means so much in terms of people's health and improving air
00:32 quality improves people's health but also improves quality of life and it's making our
00:38 city centres greener. And we know that there are 320 different towns and cities across
00:44 Europe that are doing the same as Edinburgh and now obviously Dundee and Aberdeen as well
00:49 as Glasgow. So this is about improving people's health and we know for example that the most
00:54 vulnerable people, young people, those with health conditions and older people really
00:58 suffer from the problems of air quality and we know that any air pollution can cause health
01:05 damage and it's quite clear from the medical studies that this is the way forward to improve
01:10 that quality of health and quality of life in our cities.
01:14 Gareth Brown from Aspen Young UK Scotland strongly backs the LEZ.
01:19 The health benefits for the low emission zone are vast, especially for people with lift
01:22 and respiratory conditions. This is a public health measure and so people with respiratory
01:26 conditions like asthma and chronic or short-term common disease it makes it easier for them
01:29 to visit, to live and to work in the city centre and it allows them to be the cleaner
01:34 they need for their health.
01:37 It's estimated around 2,700 people die prematurely each year in Scotland associated with air
01:42 pollution. These are 2,700 lives lost because of actions that have not been taken so far
01:48 so having a low emission zone in place will help reduce that number and also to protect
01:52 public health in general.
01:55 So from the council's point of view what difference will the LEZ make? Transport Convener Scott
02:01 Arthur.
02:02 Well the LEZ has already made a difference because people have upgraded their vehicles
02:06 in advance with enforcement starting and because of that the air is already getting cleaner
02:11 and so we're getting towards or are meeting the minimum standards set in law in terms
02:16 of air quality which is really good but that is just the minimum standard. We're nowhere
02:21 near the guidelines set by the World Health Organization and earlier I was speaking to
02:25 asthma among the UK and they reminded me that there's no level of air pollution which is
02:30 safe.