Britain Bans Petrol As Of 2040
Britain bans petrol car sales in a bold effort to combat pollutants known to cause serious health problems. Though this is expected to have a considerable effect on Britain, the British government recognizes the need for Europe to follow suit. Toxic pollutants make their way into Britain from neighboring countries. Europe has taken steps to show they are conscious of the need to step up emissions regulations and France is expected to announce a similar decision to Britain’s shortly. This is a giant step forward for the future of EVs.
You can view the highlights of the report below, or view the full British government press release.
Highlights of the Official British Government Document Released July of 2017
The government has already taken significant action to improve air quality. The UK was the first country in the world to announce in 2011 our intention that conventional car and van sales would end by 2040, and for almost every car and van on the road to be a zero emission vehicle by 2050. The UK is already a leader in Europe in terms of electric vehicle manufacture and uptake…
The shift to ultra-low and zero emission vehicles is well under way, and will continue to gather pace over the coming years as we move towards 2040, by which point the government will end the sale of all new conventional petrol and diesel cars and vans. This shift will resolve our air quality problem as combustion engines gradually disappear from the streets of our towns and cities, some as soon as the early 2020s. However, this will not happen quickly enough and the impact that air pollution continues to have on the health of this nation means we must do more, sooner.
We therefore have a clear ambition and policy agenda to improve air quality, backed up with significant investment…
However, poor air quality persists in certain areas of the country as a direct result of the failure of the European regulatory system to deliver expected improvements in vehicle emissions…Diesel vehicles on our roads are causing harmful emissions far above what was assumed and contributing to pollution levels that continue to be damaging to public health…We need to take specific further action in order to address the immediate health risks presented by poor air quality in particular parts of the country.
There is increasing evidence that air quality has an important effect on public health, the economy, and the environment. According to Public Health England, poor air quality is the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK1. Evidence from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that older people, children, people with pre-existing lung and heart conditions, and people on lower incomes may be most at risk…
We want vehicle manufacturers to show that they can be part of the solution as well as the problem. The UK led the way in Europe in pushing for tough new type approval standards for cars and vans…We want to be absolutely sure that these new standards will deliver, and that we see a significant reduction in harmful emissions from new models of cars and vans.
These new standards have no effect on existing vehicles on the road, many of which – even some of the newest models – show harmful emissions levels many times greater than the test limits. We have set up a Market Surveillance Unit to increase the checks that we carry out to ensure that new and existing vehicles on UK roads meet the standards that they were approved to. We will continue to examine all steps that could be taken to ensure manufacturers rectify these failings.
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