Controversial London-style Low Emission Zones (LEZ) may not have to be introduced into Aberdeen-if council chiefs can achieve ambitious hydrogen targets in the next two years.
The LEZ, areas of a city where high-polluting vehicles have to pay to enter- like London’s congestion charge zone- or are completely banned, have been mooted for Aberdeen by the Scottish government in an attempt to drive down pollution.
Driver’s groups have questioned the need for the scheme at a time when a slew of multimillion-pound traffic-busting projects are in the pipeline.
But a new report to councillors on next week’s infrastructure says that if the authority’s £6million hydrogen plan, including more hydrogen vehicles for the car club, then LEZs may become a “non requirement”.
Last month, the Press and Journal revealed that fewer than two vehicles a day on average were using a £2.6million hydrogen fuelling station in Cove.
The report reads: “It is in the City’s best economic interest to not only promote a transfer to sustainable modes of travel… but also to ensure that if someone wants to bring their vehicle into town that the council is providing the basic infrastructure to enable them to do this in the most low emission way possible – by facilitating public and private uptake of hydrogen, electric and other low emission vehicles.
“Getting this infrastructure in place may result in the non-requirement of the Low Emission Zone if we are already meeting NOx and Particulate Matter targets.”
Council hydrogen chief Barney Crockett said: “Regardless of hydrogen uptake, fossil fuels will remain a big part of energy for the next four of five decades so LEZ are something that have to be looked at.”
