§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the extent of air pollution resulting from road traffic and its effect on numbers of premature deaths and hospital admissions. [48052]
§ Angela EagleRoad traffic is a significant source of emissions of airborne pollutants. Figures for the United Kingdom in 1996 show that traffic accounted for 71 per cent. of national emissions of carbon monoxide, 47 per cent. of nitrogen oxides, 30 per cent. of volatile organic compounds and 25 per cent. of particulate matter. These proportions are likely to be higher in urban areas.
The Department of Health Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution has published a report entitled Quantification of the Effects of Air Pollution on Health in the United Kingdom, in January this year. In this report, the Committee estimates that each year between 12,000 and 24,000 deaths are brought forward by short-term exposure to air pollution (sulphur dioxide, particulate matter and ozone) from all sources, including traffic, mainly in urban areas of Great Britain. The range for hospital admissions and readmissions was 14,000–24,000. Some uncertainties remain. It is, at present, not possible to say by how much lives are shortened. It is also not possible to attribute a proportion of these effects to traffic alone. Research is already under way to address some of the issues highlighted in the Committee's report.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the impact of the forecast194W growth in road traffic over the next 20 years on the attainment of the Government's targets for the reduction in carbon emissions by 2010. [48051]
§ Angela EagleRoad traffic CO2 emissions can increase as a result of a number of factors, which include changes in the distance travelled, vehicle speeds, and the fuel efficiency of vehicles. Energy projections published in 1995 by the Department of Trade and Industry forecast that CO2 emissions from road transport would grow by around twenty percent. between 1995 and 2010. Revised energy forecasts will be published later this year.
Interim estimates based on the 1997 National Road Traffic Forecasts (NRTF) point to significantly lower growth in emissions over the period compared to the 1995 forecasts. The NRTF incorporates the impact of the Government's policy of increasing fuel duty by six percent. per year in real terms, and the improvements which this is expected to produce in the fuel efficiency of the vehicle stock.
The Government plan to publish a consultation paper later this summer on policy options for delivering our climate change targets. This will focus on measures to deliver our legally binding target from Kyoto to reduce emissions by 12.5 per cent. below 1990 levels over the period 2008–2012, as well as discussing how we might move beyond that towards our domestic aim of reducing Co2 emissions by 20 per cent. on 1990 levels by 2010. This document will cover the options available to reduce emissions from the transport sector.