Britain to Ban Sale of Petrol and Diesel Cars by 2040
In an effort to combat air pollution, Britain has announced that the sale of new diesel and petrol cars will be banned from 2040.
The move comes amid fears that the high levels of nitrogen oxide in the air are a major health risk.
The number of diesel vehicles on Britain’s roads has jumped from 3.2 million in 2000, to more than 10 million today.
The Labour Government encouraged the purchase of diesel vehicles in the hopes of reducing carbon dioxide levels. However, it has since been discovered that diesel vehicles release harmful nitrogen dioxide, which raises the risk of strokes, asthma, and heart attacks.
UK Ministers have identified 81 major roads in 17 cities where pollution levels are so high that they are in breach of EU emissions standards.
A £255 million fund is expected to be set up to help local councils deal with the pollution in their areas. Strategies to be encouraged include retrofitting high pollution diesel vehicles, changing road layouts and removing speed bumps.
No new diesel or petrol vehicles will be sold from 2040, to encourage people to make the switch to hybrid or electric.
Britain’s clean air plan comes shortly after France announced a similar plan earlier this month.
Many critics have said that the 2040 ban is too little too late, and that it should come into effect as soon as 2025.
Former Labour leader Ed Miliband has called the move a “smokescreen”, and claims that the measure is too weak to combat the 40 000 deaths a year from air pollution.
The shift away from fuel-based vehicles likely signals the beginning of the end of the combustion engine’s dominance of the motor industry, after more than a century.
