This report assesses the low emission zones in Flanders. Both the environmental impact and the social impact were examined. The evaluation shows that the low-emission zones have effectively accelerated the greening of the vehicle fleet. Old diesel cars disappeared from the low-emission zones faster than in the rest of Flanders and were more often replaced by (older) petrol vehicles. As a result, emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and black carbon (soot) have fallen sharply. The lower emissions have improved air quality in the cities where a low-emission zone (LEZ) was introduced. This is especially true for soot (black carbon), for which the effect of the low-emission zone in Antwerp is also clearly visible in the measurement results. The impact of the low-emission zones extends beyond the low-emission zone alone. Everywhere in Flanders there are fewer diesel cars than in the past, partly thanks to the introduction of the low-emission zones. As a result, concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) have fallen sharply at all locations in Flanders where there is a lot of traffic.
Better air quality leads to a healthier living environment. Socially vulnerable people in particular benefit from this. They are not only more exposed to air pollution but are also more sensitive to the health risks of air pollution. They often do not have a car, which means that they only experience positive effects from the low-emission zone. Socially vulnerable families who do have a car are hit harder than other families. It is therefore very important to take support measures for this target group that mitigate the social impact. At the same time, these measures must not reduce effectiveness because the positive effects of a low-emission zone for socially vulnerable people are precisely the greatest. It is therefore necessary to find a good balance between effectiveness and social support. With the right support measures, we can ensure that the positive social effects outweigh the negative social effects. The less strict access criteria for petrol vehicles and the Ghent scrapping premium succeed best in this.