Comment on the government’s plan to tackle air pollution published today

Excellent news about a ban on petrol and diesel cars, but it needs to be expedited

Commenting on the government plan to tackle air pollution published today, Professor Jonathan Grigg said:

“Although we support the government’s direction of travel to move away from petrol and diesel cars, this proposal is not ambitious enough since the most toxic vehicles currently on our roads must be removed as soon as possible.  The 2040 target means that several generations of children will suffer the long term consequences of inhaling sooty particles and oxides of nitrogen.  The government needs to act now, with a faster and more robust response to this public health emergency.”

“In areas where legal limits of NO2 are broken, the government’s own analysis shows that 80% of the problem comes from road transport.  Diesel vehicles are the main source of this problem. We therefore need to see real, concrete and fast solutions.  We find it disappointing that there are no immediate plans to introduce neither a scrappage scheme nor charging Clean Air Zones.  We need properly implemented and joined up Clean Air Zones that local authorities can implement with support from the national government.  This is the fastest way of dealing with unsafe and illegal air pollution.”

“Its time for a modal shift towards a cleaner and healthier transport system and that can be done by supporting both active – walking and cycling – and public transport systems.”

ENDS