In response to the publication of the Government’s ‘Road to Zero’ Strategy, Labour’s London Assembly Spokesperson for the Environment, Leonie Cooper AM, said:
“It is extremely disappointing that the Government have conceded to keeping hybrids on the roads, which waters down their already inadequate target to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2040.
“We urgently need the Government to stop dragging their feet and put the measures in place to push through the wholesale transition to electric vehicles.
“With thousands of Londoners dying prematurely every year due to air pollution, we need much stronger assurances that the Government are serious about taking the most polluting vehicles off our roads.
“We know that there is a cross-party consensus that more urgent and resolute action needs to be taken. The Mayor of London recently joined city leaders from across England and Wales calling for the Government to put an end to pure diesel and petrol sales from 2030, and this is in line with more ambitious targets set by other countries.
“Sadiq Khan has led the way on tackling air pollution, implementing the T-Charge, and from 2019, the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ). It is high-time that the Government followed his lead”.
ENDS
Notes to editors
- The Mayor of London recently joined city leaders from across England and Wales calling for the Government to put an end to pure diesel and petrol sales from 2030;
-The Mayor has announced the introduction of an Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) from 2019;
-The Mayor has introduced a Toxicity Charge ‘T-Charge’ for London’s most polluting cars;
-Fiona Twycross AM is a Londonwide Assembly Member.