Pollution-detecting Christmas tree installed in Glasgow city centre

Visitors to Glasgow’s Buchanan Street will be treated this week to a festive lights display like no other, with a Christmas tree featuring lights that change colour according to the pollution levels in the city.

The tree was installed by EDF in a bid to make motorists more aware of the impact that petrol and diesel cars have on the environment, and features colour-changing lights powered by an electric vehicle (EV) that react to air pollution levels in the city centre.

Developed by the company’s research and development team, the innovative light display has been programmed to reflect live pollution data and change colour from green to white once the World Health Organisation (WHO) annual mean limit (5 μg/m3), which is the target that the WHO has set for the total average pollution levels for the year to stay below, for PM2.5 is exceeded1.

The display comes as consumer research commissioned by EDF2 reveals over three fifths (63%) of Brits travelling this Christmas will be using a car as their main mode of transport, with only 5% of these driving an EV3.

The research found that nine in 10 British adults look set to travel more than 300 miles to celebrate Christmas, with the average motorist travelling 339 miles during December on Christmas related activities4. This includes visiting friends and family (96 miles) and shopping for Christmas food and gifts (110 miles), equating to a collective 10.5billion miles nationwide5. Additionally, of those travelling in the month of December, 18% will drive to see festive markets and 15% usually go to see the Christmas lights.

Whilst many of us now shop online for presents, nearly two thirds (64%) still choose to shop in store with the average motorist making five shopping trips during the Christmas period. With the main reasons cited for visiting the city centre as preference to buy items in person rather than online (61%), with almost a third (29%) doing so as the decorations help them to get into the festive spirit, with a quarter (26%) doing so as part of their Christmas tradition.

Of those that use a car to travel into their nearest city centre, almost half (46%) do so due to convenience, with four tenths (40%) not wanting to have to worry about carrying shopping home and the speed of it (33%), with a quarter (25%) stating that there are limited public transport alternatives available.

Of those who choose not to drive into their nearest city centres, only a quarter of people (24%) do so due to environmental reasons, with the high cost of parking (45%) the main reason to not use their car, followed by the struggle to find a parking place (39%).

Glasgow has been selected as the home of EDF’s “Christmas Tree-V” as not only was the city host to the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, but is also set to be car free by 2027 as part of its LEZ (low emission zone) plan. Phase 2 of the plan, which starts on 1st June 2023, will mean that all vehicles entering the city centre zone must meet the required emission standards or face a penalty.

Furthermore, of those who were aware of the conference, more than a third (39%) had said that it made them more likely to consider their carbon footprint when they travel and potentially switch to an alternative mode of transport to cut carbon emissions.

Philippe Commaret, Managing Director for Customers at EDF commented:
“Santa may not ride an electric sleigh but increasing numbers of motorists are choosing to drive electric vehicles, with COP encouraging more people to consider the carbon impact of their travel this Christmas.

“Thanks to our specially designed Christmas Tree-V, visitors to Glasgow city centre will be able to see pollution levels change throughout the day as the lights change, helping people to see the impact of their transport choices for themselves.

“As Britain’s biggest generator of zero carbon electricity, we’re committed to making it as easy as possible for motorists to make the switch to an EV and cut their carbon emissions, from car leasing deals to home charging points and 100% renewable zero carbon EV tariffs.6”

Analysis conducted by EDF found that the 31million cars on UK roads 7 will emit around 68 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year8. That’s the equivalent of 41.2million return flights from London to New York9. By comparison, running an electric SUV would contribute no carbon dioxide emissions to the environment if charged using a regulated renewable tariff, such as EDF’s GoElectric tariff10.

To make the transition to electric vehicles hassle-free, EDF has partnered with Drive Electric, one of the UK’s leading electric car leasing providers, to bring consumers affordable deals starting from £164 per month11, as well as home charge-points through its partnership with Pod Point. EDF makes it easy to switch to electric motoring, providing customers with access to a range of electric vehicle offerings from chargers for home, electric vehicle leasing, and three different tariff options to suit their lifestyle.