London to Phase Out Diesel-Based Buses on 2018, Introduces Hydrogen Bus

London is upping its ante on the climate change battle after a historic reveal from Mayor Sadiq Khan. The London mayor announced that "dirty" diesel double-decker buses will be phased out from the city's bus fleet by 2018.

This is after the unveiling of the city's first-ever double-decker hydrogen bus. Khan even announced that all single-decker buses in central London will either be electric or hydrogen-based.

This is a significant move towards realizing the goals for the Ultra-Low Emission Zone standard by 2020. According to the Ultra-Low Emission Zone, it will be an area within the capital where all cars, motorcycles, vans and other vehicles will have to meet exhaust emission standards.

The move to remove diesel-based double deckers is due to the air pollution level in the capital as well. According to a document from London's website, long exposure to the pollution can cause 9,400 premature deaths annually.

According to BBC, London will introduce at least 20 new hydrogen buses as part of a £10m part-European Union-funded project that supports hydrogen technology. Transport for London will also provide £5m in funding for the project.

The new hydrogen double-decker buses will be on trial around the city's roads next year. Meanwhile, it can be expected that 300 more "zero-emission" buses will be on the streets by 2020.

Interestingly, London's move appears to be one of many occurring in a lot of major cities in the world. Cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Cape Town and San Francisco also plans to phase out diesel buses by 2020. Meanwhile, Paris, Mexico City and Madrid have also committed to remove diesel buses from the cities by 2025.

Khan said this move is to help London become a "world leader in hydrogen and electric bus technology."

The move is also beneficial to the move towards combatting climate change. A lot of countries are even opting towards becoming full-independent on fossil fuel sources in a few decades.