Following on from an announcement by French environment minister Nicholas Hulot to outlaw all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040, the UK government has decided to follow suit with exactly the same pledge. The first country to formally undertake such a measure was Norway, who, one year ago, announced a similar ban but with a much more radical deadline—2025.
The measure will also affect hybrid vehicles and dramatically increase the sale of electric cars, which would be the only type allowed: as it stands, they only constitute 1% of the UK market. The measure is part of a broader government plan including further interventions on public transport, taxi and cycle paths.
The move is needed because of the unnecessary and avoidable impact that poor air quality is having on people’s health. Ministers believe it poses the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK, costing up to £2.7bn (€2.98bn) in lost productivity in one recent year. The UK government is providing councils with new funding to accelerate development of local plans, as part of an ambitious £3bn programme to clean up dirty air around the roads.
The environment secretary, Michael Gove, will be hoping for a better reception when he publishes the final document on Wednesday following months of legal wrangling.
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.
Measures to be urgently brought in by local authorities that have repeatedly breached EU rules include retrofitting buses and other public transport, changing road layouts and altering features such as roundabouts and speed humps.
Reprogramming traffic lights will also be included in local plans, with councils being given £255m to accelerate their efforts. Local emissions hotspots will be required to layout their plans by March 2018 and finalise them by the end of the year. A targeted scrappage scheme is also expected to be included.
Some want the countrywide initiative to follow in the footsteps of London, which is introducing a £10 toxic “T-charge” that will be levied on up to 10,000 of the oldest, most polluting vehicles every weekday.
