Britain is to ban all new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 amid fears that rising levels of nitrogen oxide pose a major risk to public health.
The commitment, which follows a similar pledge in France, is part of the UK government’s much-anticipated clean air plan to be released this Wednesday, which has been at the heart of a protracted high court legal battle, reports the Guardian.
The government warned that the move was needed because of the unnecessary and avoidable impact that poor air quality was having on people’s health. Ministers believe it poses the largest environment risk to public health in the UK, costing approx A$4.4bn in lost productivity in one recent year.
Ministers have been urged to introduce charges for vehicles to enter a series of “clean air zones” (CAZ). However, the government wants taxes to be considered only as a final resort amid a backlash against any move that punishes motorists.
“Poor air quality is the biggest environmental risk to public health in the UK and this government is determined to take strong action in the shortest time possible,” a government spokesman says. “That is why we are providing councils with new funding to accelerate development of local plans, as part of an ambitious A4.8bn programme to clean up dirty air around our roads.”
A briefing on parts of the plan, seen by the Guardian, repeats the heavy focus on the steps that can be taken to help councils improve air quality in specific areas where emissions have breached EU thresholds.
Some want the country-wide initiative to follow in the footsteps of London, which is introducing a £10 (A$16.45) toxic “T-charge” that will be levied on up to 10,000 of the oldest, most polluting vehicles every weekday.
There have been calls for vehicles to be charged for entering ‘clean air zones’. Sources insisted that while the idea of charges were on the table, there was no plan to force councils to introduce them, and that other measures would be exhausted first.
They hope the centrepiece of Wednesday’s strategy to be put forward by Gove will be the plan to ban diesel and petrol sales completely by 2040, in line with Emmanuel Macron’s efforts across the Channel.
