‘Petrol and diesel vehicles ban does not go far enough’

PLANS to ban sales of new diesel and petrol vehicles by 2040 do not go “far enough or fast enough” and action to tackle air pollution is needed now, campaigners urged last night.

UK Ministers yesterday unveiled their court-mandated plans for to meet legal European Union limits on harmful nitrogen dioxide pollution after a longrunning legal battle – just days before the deadline set by the High Court.

UK Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: “We are determined to deliver a green revolution in transport and reduce pollution in our towns and cities.

“We are taking bold action and want nearly every car and van on UK roads to be zero emission by 2050, which is why we’ve committed to investing more than £600m in the development, manufacture and use of ultra-low emission vehicles by 2020.”

But much of the focus was on UK-wide plans to end the sale of all conventional petrol and diesel cars by 2040, to help tackle air pollution and climate change emissions. It follows similar plans announced in France this month and comes amid increasing signs that the shift to electric vehicles is accelerating.

Air pollution causes an estimated 40,000 premature deaths a year in the UK and linked to health problems from childhood illnesses to heart disease and even dementia.

Mr Gove told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We can’t carry on with diesel and petrol cars not just because of the health problems that they cause but also because the emissions that they cause would mean that we would accelerate climate change, do damage to our planet and to the next generation.”

Asked if there was no alternative to more wind farms and nuclear power energy stations, Mr Gove replied: “There is no alternative to embracing new technology.”

But University of South Wales academic manager Henry Enos said he believed cities like Cardiff – which held its first car-free day last year – did not necessarily have widespread car use in their future.

“I think that our transport systems in 2040 will be radically different anyway and I think we need much more radical thinking than just electric cars,” he said.

“With populations and cities