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London Assembly urges clampdown on diesel cars

London_Taxi_diesel_emission_620The London Assembly has produced a report that looks at London’s efforts to reduce carbon dioxide in the capital.

The report entitled “Driving away from diesel: Reducing air pollution from diesel vehicles” makes recommendations to ensure NO2 compliance in London as soon as possible, in order to clean up the capital’s air quality.

In April the Supreme Court ordered the Government to take immediate action to tackle  levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) found in the UK.

The London Assembly recommendations include:

  • The Mayor should introduce the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) before 2020 and the zone should be wider and stronger
  • The Government should take forward the Mayor’s proposal for a scrappage scheme linked to replacing non-compliant vehicles with low-emission vehicles
  • The Mayor should set out – following consultation with the taxi industry – how zero-emission capable taxis will be available from 2018 and how the necessary infrastructure (rapid charging network and/or hydrogen stations) will be delivered
  • The Mayor should work closely with the boroughs and national government to show how the whole of London could achieve compliance with European air pollution limits by 2020.

Environment Committee Member, Stephen Knight AM, said: “The Committee has been pushing for NO2 compliance for some time now but following the judgment from the Supreme Court in April, the Government is now obliged to act by law.

“We urge the Mayor and the Government to take our recommendations on board and we call on the Mayor to finally take ownership of the matter in order to help London’s air quality meet legal limits.

“As petrol engines become cleaner with time it’s becoming clear that diesel emissions are a large part of the problem, so our report addresses this issue specifically.”

In May the car industry launched a campaign to defend diesel power. It argued that the latest Euro-6 vehicle emission standards, affecting all new cars sold from 1 January 2015, drastically reduce NOx pollutants.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said at the time:  “Today’s diesel engines are the cleanest ever, and the culmination of billions of pounds of investment by manufacturers to improve air quality.

“Bans and parking taxes on diesel vehicles therefore make no sense from an environmental point of view.

“We need to avoid penalising one vehicle technology over another and instead encourage the uptake of the latest low emission vehicles by consumers. The allegations against diesel cars made in recent months threaten to misguide policy making and undermine public confidence in diesel. It’s time to put the record straight.”

 

 

 

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