Vehicles contribute to over 50% of all air pollution in Portsmouth. This means that some areas have high levels of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) pollution which creates dirty air and leads to high numbers of excess urban deaths every year. In a 2017 report, the UK government identified Portsmouth as one of over 60 areas that needed to improve their air quality as soon as possible.
The Portsmouth CAZ is a quick way to make the city's air cleaner to breathe. It aims to encourage drivers of highly polluting vehicles to switch to cleaner, greener transport. Else, they face a daily charge to drive into the city centre.
The council is also working on other ways to improve the air quality. These include improving public transport and electric car charging infrastructure. These will help the Clean Air Zone reduce levels of urban pollution.