Vans now number one road source of dirty air in central London
September 1, 2025
A new analysis by Clean Cities has found that diesel vans are now the biggest road source of NOx emissions in central London. Previously taxis had been the worst culprits.
- New data shows vans are now the biggest road source of NOx emissions in central London
- Almost 100 charities and businesses call on the Mayor for greater support to electrify
A new analysis by Clean Cities has found that diesel vans are now the biggest road source of NOx emissions in central London. Previously taxis had been the worst culprits.
The analysis uses brand new data from the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory¹, the most authoritative dataset on the sources of harmful emissions in London.
The data shows that diesel vans now emit the most NOx of any road source – pumping out 108 tonnes of toxic NOx in 2022 compared to taxis (78 tonnes) and cars (60 tonnes). Vans are also forecast to be the biggest contributor in 2030. In 2019, taxis were the worst offender but this has changed owing to the electrification of the fleet.
NOx emissions create NO2, a toxic gas which can irritate the lining of our airways and make people more at risk from asthma attacks. London continues to breach legal requirements for NO2 concentrations, as well as World Health Organization’s Air Quality Guidelines², which are recommended levels set by scientists to safeguard public health.
These new figures show that policies to reduce van emissions will be key to meeting WHO guidelines, as committed to by the Mayor of London.
These new figures come as charities and businesses are pushing for more support from the Mayor of London to shift to electric vans in London. In a letter³ sent to the Mayor of London, almost 100 charities and businesses have called for an 100% Congestion Charge discount for electric vans operated by an SME or charity to help them go green.
“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. A first step should be a 100% congestion charge discount for electric vans run by charities and small businesses.”
Zak Bond, Clean Cities Campaign Manager
“This worrying new data shows how children in London are breathing in toxic air from vans every day, which is stunting their lungs and sending them to hospital wheezing. We need to see urgent action from the mayor, boroughs and businesses to get diesel vans off our streets.”
Jemima Hartshorn, Founder of Mums for Lungs
“They may seem commonplace, but diesel vans have profound effects in urban areas, and those effects are not felt evenly. Air pollution disproportionately harms racialised communities, people on lower incomes, and children. In London alone, diesel van deliveries carry hidden health and environmental costs of more than £2 billion every year.
“The good news is we can modernise the way we move goods. We’re proud to work with Clean Cities to encourage the Mayor of London and businesses to cut emissions from vans. In particular, businesses should be helped to switch to cargo bikes, which are faster, cheaper, and far less polluting in cities.”
Ben Pearce, Head of the Health effects of air pollution programme at Impact on Urban Health
Interviews: Zak Bond, Clean Cities, zak.bond@cleancitiescampaign.org
Footnotes:
The LAEI 2022 is the latest version of the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory, produced by the Greater London Authority and Transport for London. It presents emissions estimates of key pollutants (NOx, PM10, PM2.5 and CO2) by source type for the baseline year of 2022, and forecasts for 2025 and 2030. https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/london-atmospheric-emissions-inventory–laei–2022/
- https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/what-are-the-who-air-quality-guidelines
The open letter was signed by almost 100 charities and businesses and sent to the Mayor of London. It reads:
“Dear Mayor Khan,Whilst we are happy to see that the Congestion Charge Cleaner Vehicle Discount is not ending, your current proposals will hit small businesses and charities hard. They also risk setting London’s climate ambitions back.
Under your current proposals, small businesses and charities who have done the right thing by investing in electric vans will face a new daily charge of £9. This could add more than £3000 to the annual running costs of each electric van. Some of them may even have to shift back to diesel to make ends meet.
This financial strain will also discourage the future uptake of electric vans, undermining your health and environmental targets.
That’s why we are coming together as businesses and charities to ask for an 100% discount for electric vans, quadricycles and trucks operated by an SME or charity, alongside the already proposed 50% discount for larger companies.”
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