Car makers to pay ‘air quality fund’?
MPS want to levy manufacturers to offset diesel pollution
CAR makers should have to pay for a new clean air fund to offset pollution from diesel vehicles, MPS have stated.
According to an “unprecedented” joint report from four select committees, the Government should introduce a new Clean Air Act to “improve existing legislation and enshrine the right to clean air in UK law”.
MPS from the Environmental Audit, Health and Social Care, Transport, and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committees said manufacturers should be forced to contribute to a new clean air fund to help tackle air pollution based on the “polluter pays principle”, and on a “scale that adequately compensates for the health costs of diesel pollution”.
Government estimates suggest air pollution causes 40,000 premature deaths each year and costs the economy £20billion. The report highlights how German authorities secured £250million from the car industry for a clean air fund.
It also calls on the Government to bring forward the date by which brands must end the sale of conventional petrol and diesel cars. Current plans for a 2040 ban were said to “lack ambition”.
Further emissions-based taxes – such as the London T-charge and recent rises in road tax for diesel models – are also hinted at in the House of Commons report, which recommends ministers should “take greater account of the costs of air pollution when establishing taxation and spending policy”.
Other proposals include a new public health campaign to highlight the dangers of air pollution, and the installation of charging stations for EVS in air quality “hotspots”.
Neil Parish MP, the chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, said: “We are calling on Government to develop a properly resourced support scheme available to all councils struggling with air quality, and to require the manufacturers of polluting vehicles to pay their fair share by contributing to an industry-financed clean air fund.”
Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), said: “The UK automotive industry is investing billions in technology and other measures to help address the challenge.
“A Clean Air Fund worth £220m has already been set up by Government, funded by changes to vehicle taxation.
“In addition, vehicle manufacturers are funding current scrappage schemes themselves to get the older vehicles off the road,” Hawes said.
“Government estimates suggest air pollution causes 40,000 premature deaths each year”