Latest news with #Coban
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
High air pollution alert issued for London
A high air pollution alert has been issued for London. City Hall issued the warning for Thursday after Imperial College London forecasters detected an increase in air pollution from mainland Europe. Predicted light winds combined with local sources of pollution in London would contribute to high pollution levels, the scientists said. Londoners are advised to switch vehicle engines off when idling and to refrain from burning wood or garden waste. "This is particularly important in order to protect those who are most vulnerable," said Mete Coban, the deputy mayor of environment and energy. Coban said London's toxic air was "responsible for around 4,000 premature deaths in the capital each year". "Which is why the mayor has done everything in his power to tackle it," he added. He urged Londoners to "look after themselves" during the pollution alert. City Hall issues alerts to Londoners, schools and local boroughs when moderate, high or very high air pollution is forecast. High air pollution alerts are also displayed at all bus stop countdown signs, as well as on the Underground. An air quality report published last year said high pollution episodes were now a "rare occurrence" in London. It said between 2018 and 2023, 19 high pollution alerts were issued and 217 moderate pollution alerts, "enabling Londoners to increase their awareness of high pollution episodes and take precautionary action on these days". Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Campaigners fear mayor not prioritising clean air Pollution causes harm at all stages of life - report Do clean-air zones like London's Ulez work? Pollution alerts
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
High air pollution alert issued for London
A high air pollution alert has been issued for London. City Hall issued the warning for Thursday after Imperial College London forecasters detected an increase in air pollution from mainland Europe. Predicted light winds combined with local sources of pollution in London would contribute to high pollution levels, the scientists said. Londoners are advised to switch vehicle engines off when idling and to refrain from burning wood or garden waste. "This is particularly important in order to protect those who are most vulnerable," said Mete Coban, the deputy mayor of environment and energy. Coban said London's toxic air was "responsible for around 4,000 premature deaths in the capital each year". "Which is why the mayor has done everything in his power to tackle it," he added. He urged Londoners to "look after themselves" during the pollution alert. City Hall issues alerts to Londoners, schools and local boroughs when moderate, high or very high air pollution is forecast. High air pollution alerts are also displayed at all bus stop countdown signs, as well as on the Underground. An air quality report published last year said high pollution episodes were now a "rare occurrence" in London. It said between 2018 and 2023, 19 high pollution alerts were issued and 217 moderate pollution alerts, "enabling Londoners to increase their awareness of high pollution episodes and take precautionary action on these days". Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Campaigners fear mayor not prioritising clean air Pollution causes harm at all stages of life - report Do clean-air zones like London's Ulez work? Pollution alerts
BBC News
19-03-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
High pollution alert issued for London
A high air pollution alert has been issued for London. City Hall issued the warning for Thursday after Imperial College London forecasters detected an increase in air pollution from mainland light winds combined with local sources of pollution in London would contribute to high pollution levels, the scientists are advised to switch vehicle engines off when idling and to refrain from burning wood or garden waste. "This is particularly important in order to protect those who are most vulnerable," said Mete Coban, the deputy mayor of environment and energy. 'Rare occurrence' Coban said London's toxic air was "responsible for around 4,000 premature deaths in the capital each year". "Which is why the mayor has done everything in his power to tackle it," he urged Londoners to "look after themselves" during the pollution Hall issues alerts to Londoners, schools and local boroughs when moderate, high or very high air pollution is air pollution alerts are also displayed at all bus stop countdown signs, as well as on the air quality report published last year said high pollution episodes were now a "rare occurrence" in said between 2018 and 2023, 19 high pollution alerts were issued and 217 moderate pollution alerts, "enabling Londoners to increase their awareness of high pollution episodes and take precautionary action on these days".
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sadiq Khan accused of 'astounding complacency' in net zero mission
Sir Sadiq Khan was accused on Tuesday of showing 'an astounding level of complacency' by failing to set 'interim targets' for his mission to achieve net zero in London by 2030. Zack Polanski, the Green Party's deputy leader, said that without such targets, there was a danger that by the end of the mayor's current term in 2028, London will be 'nowhere near' net zero and Sir Sadiq will 'swan off into the sunset'. Sir Sadiq's deputy mayor for the environment, Mete Coban, insisted there were 'many mechanisms' by which City Hall can be held to account as it strives to slash carbon emissions across the capital. According to the latest data, London's net greenhouse gas emissions have dropped from 48.67 million tonnes in 2005 to 28.32 million tonnes in 2022 - a reduction of 42 per cent. When Sir Sadiq took office in 2016, the figure stood at 35.88 million tonnes. Mr Polanski, who chairs the London Assembly's environment committee, took issue with the fact that the mayor has not set any targets for the years leading up to 2030 - for example, of bringing net emissions below 20 million tonnes by a particular year. He asked Mr Coban: 'The mayor is saying we're going to do these big things by 2030 - that will be another term if he chooses to run for another term, or he'll be out of office. 'Is it acceptable for someone to set a target for when they're out of office, when actually they could be setting interim targets, so we [the Assembly] can be holding them to account as the voice of Londoners?' Mr Coban said London was showing 'real leadership on climate action', pointing out that the mayor had already brought forward the capital's net zero target from 2050 to 2030. He added that it was entirely fair for Sir Sadiq to set a target for 2030, as the public often criticises politicians for not having 'plans beyond our terms [of office]'. The deputy mayor said: 'I think what Londoners want to see is for us to deliver on the 2030 target, and that's what we're focused on.' Mr Polanski replied: 'Do you not think there's a problem though, if we get to 2028 and we're nowhere near net zero. Sadiq Khan swans off into the sunset, and who gets held accountable?' He added that aiming for net zero by 2030 'on a wing and a prayer', without being able to explain when particular milestones will be achieved on the way towards that target, showed 'an astounding level of complacency' from the mayor. Mr Coban said Sir Sadiq's office would continue to 'report on what progress we're making' in reaching net zero, while assuring the committee that there were ways in which 'Londoners can hold us to account'. The deputy mayor did not give a direct answer when asked by Mr Polanski whether City Hall officials were working towards any interim targets in private and were simply choosing not to share them. 'What we have is a very ambitious manifesto, that will help us reach our net zero ambitions if we carry on with the delivery, and that's what we're focused on,' said Mr Coban. The mayor admitted in December last year that London was 'still not on target' to achieve net zero by 2030, but said the arrival of a Labour Government had made him more hopeful of getting there. He said ministers were providing the capital with vital support in insulating buildings, electrifying the bus fleet, and creating new jobs in industries focused on tackling climate change. Sir Sadiq's office has previously stated that between half and two thirds of London's net zero target will be dependent on Government action, rather than anything City Hall can do with its existing powers.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Green transition should benefit ordinary Londoners, says deputy mayor
Working-class people and those from ethnic minorities will benefit most from a range of environmental policies being implemented in London, the capital's deputy mayor has said. Mete Coban, 32, grew up in a council flat in the borough of Hackney and saw for himself the difficulties the lack of green space, poor or overcrowded housing and polluted air can cause. But now, six months after his appointment as deputy mayor for environment and energy – London's youngest deputy mayor – Coban says those early experiences have shaped his priorities for the capital. 'I have to pinch myself sometimes, because when I was growing up I would see things around me and think, if only I could be in a position to actually make a difference. I wasn't into traditional politics or anything, but I cared about the stuff around me … and now here I am, it's incredible … a real responsibility.' Coban's position covers a wide range of issues, from improving people's homes through retrofitting to preparing London for the extreme heat and flooding that will become more frequent and destructive as the climate crisis deepens. He says his overriding priority is to make sure the green transition – which he says has unstoppable momentum – improves the lives of ordinary, working-class Londoners. 'The issue of climate transition is in many ways an issue of social justice and economic justice and racial justice for working people … we need to use it to uplift every community and think about how we can redistribute wealth to some of London's most working-class communities.' Related: Heat from sewers, tube and Thames could soon warm London buildings Deprived communities often suffer most from climate breakdown, due to poorly insulated homes that suffer in extreme heat in summer and high bills in winter, lack of gardens or communal green spaces, and air pollution. Coban rattles off a list of priorities, from giving more funds to hard-to-reach community groups to improve green spaces in their neighbourhoods, to working with local councils on retrofitting homes to lower bills, reduce damp and make them more resilient to extreme heat. Last month, he launched a £2m fund to help schools install insulation, heat pumps and solar panels, which he said could save them each as much as £18,000 a year. In the first month more than 100 schools have applied. Coban, who, like the mayor, Sadiq Khan, suffered from asthma as a child, says improving air pollution will continue to be a top priority, with more encouragement for people to walk, cycle and use public transport. There will also be a campaign to raise awareness of the deadly impact of wood-burning stoves, which are often used by middle-class residents for aesthetic reasons, while poorer areas suffer the worst impacts of toxic air. 'Wood burning is a massive issue and most people in London don't really realise the harmful impacts it has in terms of pollutants,' said Coban. Coban was just 21 when he was elected to Hackney council and was there when it rolled out one of the biggest programmes of low-traffic neighbourhoods in the UK, introduced traffic reduction measures outside scores of schools and planted thousands of new trees. Now he wants to bring the same focus to his work across London. Related: Tower Hamlets mayor taken to court over removal of low-traffic neighbourhoods 'I remember when a youth club got shut down on my estate and that sense of feeling powerless – my community didn't have the resources, the connections to save it, and no one lifted a finger. That is what drove me on to try and be a councillor and now this, it's about making sure that everything we do works for ordinary Londoners.' Coban has spent much of his first six months in post visiting communities – often young people – in different parts of the capital to listen to their priorities. 'Londoners already have ideas and organisation, and businesses already have ideas around what we can do around the green transition. Our job … is making sure that we can enable them and really accelerate their efforts.' Coban says four months before he became a councillor he had no idea what the job involved, and when he first went into politics he did not talk about his background – his father is a cab driver and his mother worked as a seamstress – because he did not want people's sympathy. But now he says he owes it to young people living similar lives to show them that they can make a difference for their communities. 'We want London to be a place where everyone has opportunities, not just to be a place where you work but a place where you want to live, with loads of access to green space and good, healthy housing,' he said. 'It's exciting, there is so much opportunity and we want to excite London about this transition.'
