Event aims to boost air quality in Edinburgh

Transport experts from seven EU member states will converge on Edinburgh this week to discuss ways of boosting air quality in the Scottish capital.

Representatives from England, Belgium, Czech Republic, Holland, Italy, Spain and Sweden will use an environmentally-friendly Routemaster bus to scour the city during a fact-finding mission.

This will form part of the two-day European ECO Stars Fleet Recognition Scheme conference, which is being held in Scotland for the first time.

During the event, discussions will be held on how air monitoring results in Edinburgh can be boosted, with fleet operators being the main target for potential improvements.

Transport leader councillor Gordon Mackenzie said: "The council is already working with some road haulage fleet operators about emission reductions, but we need to engage further with many more to make a meaningful impact on air quality."

Across the country, pollution levels in Glasgow were recently branded "embarrassing" by representatives of the World Wildlife Fund Scotland, with significant improvements required before the city hosts the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

Posted by Joseph Hutton