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The Environmental Industries Commission (EIC) has called on the government to ensure any future low-emissions zones (LEZs) in the UK follow the same standards as the London version. In a letter to DfT minister Jim Fitzpatrick, the EIC also calls for the technology used to comply with the LEZs to be certified nationally. An EIC spokesman says that other cities across the UK are considering LEZs and the organisation is concerned that without government  guidance, each zone could have different requirements and therefore the abatement equipment would have to be certified for each one.

"If other cities are looking at LEZs then it is important they are consistent with one another. Getting hauliers to comply with different schemes in different cities seems unnecessary," he says. "The aim of the letter is to get central government guidance to ensure other cities do not set different targets." The spokesman adds that using the abatement information collected during the London LEZ process could keep costs down and stop confusion when it comes to national standards for pollution control equipment. The DfT refused to comment on the letter.