Transport emissions in Islington cut by a quarter since 2018, data reveals

Cllr Rowena Champion. Photograph: Islington Council

Road pollution has fallen by 25 per cent in the last six years in Islington – as the borough continues to make progress on carbon emissions.

Cllr Rowena Champion (Labour), the Town Hall’s environment and transport chief, delivered the latest statistics in her annual report to the environment, climate and transport scrutiny committee on Tuesday.

The most recent data, taken from 2023/24, showed electricity emissions across the borough had also fallen by 24 per cent since 2018, while waste emissions had seen a 66 per cent reduction.

Cllr Champion announced “truly impressive” progress, including that “on every road in Islington, pollution has improved significantly”.

The report also showed nitrogen dioxide (NO2) had been cut by nearly 30 per cent between 2016 and 2019 — the latest data available.

Regarding road safety, councillors also heard that last year saw a 12 per cent reduction in people killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions from 2022.

That same year also saw no accidents involving children.

Cllr Angelo Weekes (Labour) welcomed the report, but suggested the council’s performance gave cause to focus on improving recycling rates and communications around sustainability.

“There’s so much Islington is doing well, but can the directorate consider where things are flashing red?

“It would be good to see a detailed action plan of driving up the recycling rate, educating businesses—just to really improve.”

In 2023/24, the borough’s household recycling rate was 29 per cent.

Other less positive results included the 5,000 littering offences recorded between June 2023 and March 2024.

Islington also faces persistent issues around a lack of green space, with the second smallest amount per person in the UK, behind Worthing’s 3.9 square metres per head.

The council stated it will use “develop contributions” to fund work to improve green spaces across the borough, including Barnard, Morton Road and Fortune Street parks.

On recycling, future plans to boost rates include multiple estate recycling projects.

To cut transport pollution further, the Town Hall also has its eyes set on sustainable vehicles, with the ambition of “electrifying the whole council fleet” by 2030.