Low emission zones - 6 Minute English

Sam: Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning

English. I'm Sam…

Neil: And I'm Neil.

Sam: In this programme, we’re discussing low

emission zones and explaining some

useful items of vocabulary along the way.

Neil: Well, that’s good, Sam. But what

exactly is a low emission zone?

Sam: Well, the noun 'emission' is an

amount of, usually, gas, that is sent out

into the air and harms the environment –

it’s pollution. And a low emission zone is

an area of a city where the amount of

pollution is controlled.

Neil: Of course, and cities like London

have them - most vehicles, including cars

and vans, need to meet certain emissions

standards or their drivers must pay a daily

charge to drive within the zone – or they

might even be banned altogether.

Sam: Exactly. It’s all about making the air

we breathe cleaner. And my question

today is about one UK city which recently

announced it wants to be the country’s

first ‘net zero’ city - placing their

greenhouse emissions at a neutral level.

But which one is it? Is it…

a) Glasgow, b) Manchester, c) Cardiff

Neil: Ah yes, I’ve heard about this and I’m

sure it is a) Glasgow.

Sam: OK, I'll let you know if that was

correct at the end of the programme.

Now, Neil mentioned that London already

has an ultra-low emission zone. But this

year, other UK cities, including

Bath, Leeds and Birmingham, are also

bringing in Clean Air Zones.

Neil: And around the world, many other

cities, like Beijing, Paris and Madrid have

these zones. Although there are many

types of emissions, such as from

factories, these zones predominantly

target exhaust fumes from vehicles –

poisonous gases called nitrogen dioxide.

Sam: Let’s hear from an expert on this -

Alastair Lewis who is a Professor of

Atmospheric Chemistry at the University

of York. He spoke to BBC Radio 4’s Inside

Science programme and explained

why we should be trying to reduce these

pollutants – a word for the substances

that cause pollution…

Alastair Lewis: Most of the evidence we

have now on air pollution is that we

continue to see health benefits by

reducing pollution, even when you're

below the target value.

So, just because the city meets a

particular value, there is still an

incentive to continue to improve air

quality, because the health benefits

continue to build up as you do that. So,

targets are very good at focusing the

mind, but they shouldn't be the only thing

that we're considering.

Neil: Alastair Lewis mentions ‘targets’.

These are official levels of something that

need to be achieved. They give us

something to aim for – in this case

reducing air pollution.

Sam: He uses the phrase ‘focusing the

mind’ – that means to concentrate on one

idea or thought.

Neil: But, while setting a target to cut air

pollution is good – it has health benefits

– we shouldn’t just focus on meeting the

target. Even if the target is met, we

shouldn’t stop trying to improve. The

incentive should be that we are improving

people’s health.

Sam: And an 'incentive' is something that

encourages someone to do something.

So, I think it’s accepted that creating

low emission zones is an incentive

because it encourages people to either

not drive into cities or to, at least, drive

low-polluting vehicles.

Neil: And, of course, changing to electric-

powered cars is one way to do this.

There’s more of an incentive to do this

now, at least in the UK, because the

government has said new diesel and

petrol cars and vans will be banned

from 2040.

Sam: But pollution from vehicles is just

part of the problem, as Alastair Lewis

points out…

Alastair Lewis: One has to accept that air

pollution is an enormously complex

problem with a very very large number of

contributing sources, and there will never

be any one single action that will cure the

problem for us. So, low emission zones

are one way to reduce concentrations, but

they are not, in isolation, going to

be the solution.

Neil: So, Alastair points out that air

pollution is a complex problem – it’s

complicated, difficult and involves many

parts.

Sam: Yes, there are many sources –

things that create these emissions. So,

it’s not possible to solve - or cure – the

problem by doing one thing. Low

emission zones are only one

part of the solution to the problem.

Neil: He said it was one way to reduce

concentrations – he means amounts of

substances, pollutants, found in

something, which here is the air.

Sam: Well, earlier, Neil, you had to

concentrate your mind and answer a

question about emissions.I asked which

UK city recently announced it wants to be

the country’s first ‘net zero’ city - placing

their greenhouse emissions

at a neutral level. Was it…

a) Glasgow, b) Manchester, or c) Cardiff

And, Neil, what did you say?

Neil: I said it’s Glasgow.

Sam: And it is Glasgow! Well done, Neil. It

wants to become the UK's first ‘net zero’

city. And later this year it is hosting a

major United Nations climate change

summit.

Neil: OK, Sam, I think we need a recap of

the vocabulary we’ve discussed, starting

with emissions…

Sam: 'Emissions' are amounts of, usually,

gas that is sent out into the air from

things like cars. They harm the

environment. And 'pollutants'

are the actual substances that cause

pollution…

Neil: 'To focus the mind' means to

concentrate on one idea or thought.

Sam: And we mentioned an 'incentive',

which is something that encourages

someone to do something.

Neil: 'Complex' describes something that

is complicated, difficult and involves

many parts.

Sam: And when talking about pollution,

we sometimes talk about 'concentrations'.

These are amounts of substances, or

pollutants, within something.

Neil: So, in a polluted city, we might find

high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide

because of all the traffic – it’s not great

for our health, Sam.

Sam: Indeed, Neil – that’s why we need

low emission zones!

And that brings us to the end of this 6

Minute English programme. See you soon. Bye.

Neil: Goodbye.