英国计划将于2040年禁售燃油车辆
It is said that the UK Government is expected to announce that new diesel and petrol cars and vans will be banned from 2040 to tackle air pollution. Air pollution is linked to around 40,000 premature deaths a year in the UK, and transport also makes up a significant share of greenhouse gas emissions. The expected move to ban diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2040 comes after similar plans were announced in France this month and amid increasing signs that the shift to electric vehicles is accelerating, with BMW announcing plans for an electric Mini and Volvo unveiling its moves towards cleaner cars. A £255m fund is expected to be unveiled to help councils speed up local measures to deal with pollution from diesel vehicles, as part of £3bn in spending on air quality. Yet critics said the 2040 ban was "too little too late", with the Liberal Democrats calling for new diesel sales to end by 2025. Meanwhile former Labour leader and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the move was a "smokescreen" hiding a lack of immediate action to reduce emissions. The Government was ordered to produce new plans to tackle illegal levels of harmful pollutant nitrogen dioxide after the courts agreed with environmental campaigners that a previous set of plans were insufficient to meet EU pollution limits. Campaigners have demanded the final plans should include government-funded and mandated clean air zones, with charges for the most polluting vehicles to enter areas with high air pollution, as well as a diesel scrappage scheme. A Government spokesman said: "Poor air quality is the biggest environmental risk to public health in the UK and this government is determined to take strong action in the shortest time possible.” |