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In Oxford, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – a toxic pollutant – is the pollutant of most concern that authorities are looking to address, and the entire city has been a designated Air Quality Management Area for NO2 since 2010.
Last year, NO2 levels across Oxford had dropped by 24 per cent compared with 2019 levels, thanks to an increase in electric buses, electric taxis and electric bike delivery services.
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Just one road in Oxford, St Clement’s Street, is breaching the annual mean objective of 40µg/m3 – but NO2 there had been slashed by 49 per cent in 10 years from 85µg/m3 in 2012, to 43µg/m3 in 2022.
In 2016, the Royal College of Physicians found that air pollution contributes to diseases including cancer, asthma, stroke, heart disease, and changes linked to dementia.
These have gradually reduced the amount of toxic pollutants that are allowed to be emitted from vehicles, particularly buses, travelling through Oxford city centre.
Oxford’s first electric double-decker buses arrived in 2020, and earlier this year the first of 159 new electric buses arrived as part of the zero emission bus regional areas (ZEBRA) scheme.
After all the buses have been delivered, it is believed Oxford will have one of the biggest UK fleets of electric buses outside London.
Delivery companies, including EVRI and Royal Mail, have also been moving towards using electric vehicles. In 2021, the delivery service DPD announced that Oxford was its first all-electric city.
Oxford City Council, which licences taxis in Oxford, has also introduced rules that require all black cabs to be ultra-low emission vehicles by 2026.
To cope with this rapid increase in the use of electric vehicles, hundreds of new charging points have been installed across the city.
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Oxford Bus Company has installed 104 chargers at its depot, Stagecoach has installed 55, and the city council has installed 16 rapid and fast dedicated chargers for taxis across Oxford – in addition to 42 electric charging points at Redbridge Park & Ride.
The charging hubs are powered by EDF Energy’s Oxford Superhub network, providing enough electricity to charge all 159 buses, enough for each bus to drive up to 200 miles per day.
The 2023 air pollution data for Oxford is expected to be released tomorrow – Clean Air Day – and it is anticipated that the city’s efforts may have seen air pollution drop further.
The city council is targeting an annual average NO2 level across Oxford of 30µg/m3 by 2025 – significantly lower than the government’s target of 40µg/m3.
But the World Health Organization has said there is no safe level of air pollution and has recommended reducing the legal limit to 10µg/m³.
Caroline Green, Oxford City Council’s chief executive, said: “Oxford’s dramatic reduction in air pollution has been decades in the making and has required the concerted efforts of businesses, bus companies, taxi drivers, residents and councils.
“But we know we have more to do.
“Toxic air has been linked to cancer, asthma, stroke and dementia, and the World Health Organization has said there is no safe level of air pollution.”
Oxford Climate Awards 2024
The Oxford Mail and Oxford City Council are looking to find Oxford’s climate heroes to reward and celebrate those making a difference in our community.
Keep an eye on our climate coverage and let us know your green heroes.
Alongside the spotlight on each award, we feature our categories sponsors who we are delighted to have on board and make this amazing event happen.
The closing date for nominations is Sunday, August 11 and entry forms can be found here: www.oxfordmail.co.uk/climate-awards
The awards will culminate in a prestigious black-tie event on October 17, 2024, at the historic Oxford Town Hall.
In this special celebratory launch supplement, we detail the criteria for each award across the following categories:
- Sustainable Small Business of the Year Award
- Sustainable Medium Business of the Year Award
- Innovation In Climate Action Award
- Sustainable Primary School of the Year
- Sustainable Secondary School of the Year
- Sustainable Further Education School/College of the Year
- Biodiversity And Ecology Award
- Green Building & Design Award
- Climate Community Group Award
- Green Transport Award
- Youth Climate Action Champion
- Climate Action Champion
