A new London-wide advertising campaign has gone live, encouraging drivers to turn off their engines when parked to cut air pollution.

The latest anti-idling campaign alerts drivers to the dangers of idling near schools and other locations across London, highlighting the dangers of air pollution

Funded through the Mayor’s Air Quality Fund in collaboration with City of London and Camden Council, the latest ‘Engines Off, Every Stop’ campaign features posters and billboards on roadside sites and petrol stations across the capital. These alert drivers to the dangers of idling near schools and other locations across London, highlighting how air pollution is a “toxic invisible killer”.

The campaign also points to evidence that air pollution is linked to poor recovery and higher infection rates of Covid-19 due to damage caused to the lungs.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “I am doing everything in my power to stop Londoners breathing air so filthy that it damages children’s lungs and causes thousands of premature deaths every year. There is also evidence linking air pollution with an increased vulnerability to the most severe impacts of Covid-19.”

He added that while the Ultra Low Emission Zone has already helped cut toxic roadside nitrogen dioxide pollution by more than 40%, the commitment to expand the ULEZ up to the North and South Circular in October 2021 will drive this further.

The latest anti-idling campaign is also being backed by a London Schools Pollution Helpdesk to help schools continue to tackle air pollution. The free-to-use service will focus on state primary and secondary schools in areas that still exceed legal limits for air pollution, and will support them to deliver air quality audits.