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.