Leaders of towns and cities from across England and Wales have called on the government to ban the sale of new ‘pure’ diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2030.
The mayors and city chiefs said that banning the sale of new ‘pure’ diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2030 would encourage car manufacturers and other businesses to innovate, helping ensure the UK was a world leader in low emission technology.
To ensure the roll out of an electric vehicle infrastructure needed to support such a move, cities should have the power to install charge points at petrol stations and private car parks that were publicly accessible.
The cross-party leaders, representing around 20 million people from towns and cities in England and Wales, has urged the government to bring forward current plans to phase out the vehicles from 2040, Whitehall’s confirmed date, to 2030 to tackle the nation’s growing air quality health crisis.
The call for action was discussed on Wednesday 20 June at a national air quality summit organised by the London Mayor Sadiq Khan, UK100 and the Institute for Public Policy Research.
Mr Khan said: “Banning the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, providing support to deliver Clean Air Zones in cities and introducing a national vehicle renewal scheme will dramatically improve our air quality and our health.”