Viability of implementing a low-emission zone in Liège

Abstract

Air pollution is today one of the great concerns that must be faced and therefore, different measures are being taken in order to reduce the level of the most harmful pollutants, which according to the World Health Organisation are the following: particulate matter (PM), black carbon, ground-level ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. The EU has set legal limits for concentrations of air pollutants that shall not be exceeded in the Air Quality Standards and, moreover, in the National Emissions Ceilings (NEC) Directive has set reduction commitments for 2020 and 2030 of the pollutants SOx, NOx, NMVOC, NH3, PM2.5. Consequently, in areas where the Air Quality Standards are exceeded, Air Quality Management Plans have to be developed to reduce the air pollutants concentration to below the legislative limits. Considering most of the reported exceedances refer to the pollutants PM10 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and most of these exceedances are due to road transport, a scale of policy actions has been undertaken in Europe in recent years to address transport-related air exceedances. In fact, emissions from all transport types have declined since 1990 despite the general increase of activity within the sector: emissions of nitrogen oxides from transport decreased by 40%, those of sulfur oxides decreased by 66% and those of both carbon monoxide and non-methane organic compounds decreased by 87%. One of the initiatives adopted in the road transport sector consists on the implementation of low emission zones (LEZs), which can be defined as geographically delimited areas with entry allowed to those vehicles that meet the established criteria, based in most cases on the emission limits established in the EURO regulations of the European Union. Thus, many European cities have implemented LEZs and, in the same way, Belgium has also established such zone in the cities of Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent. Currently, Belgium is proposing the expansion of LEZs, including the Wallonia region, which is expected to implement LEZs in its main cities, being Liège one of these. This document will assess the possible implementation of a low emission zone in the city of Liège, assessing the acceptance of the proposal by the inhabitants of the city.