In response to the court's verdict, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I am pleased that the Government will now have to face its responsibilities sooner rather than later.
“Ministers were dragged kicking and screaming to face the huge scale of this health crisis, but rather than take immediate action to protect the public they deliberately used the election as a smokescreen to hold back their plan.
“I share the concerns of every Londoner who has been repeatedly failed by the government.
“I hope that after this appalling delay, this Government delivers a strong plan to finally get a grip on this issue and urgently introduces a diesel scrappage fund to rid our streets of the dirtiest cars, and provide financial incentives to encourage people to buy the cleanest vehicles.”
Notes to editors
The Mayor is lobbying the Government to take urgent action on air quality, including:
- introducing a national vehicle scrappage fund to help drivers who bought diesel cars in good faith: he has previously written to the Chancellor proposing a targeted, fully-costed, city-led, time-limited approach;
- following London’s lead and introducing Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ)-style schemes where needed in other towns and cities across the UK: in London, the Mayor has launched a consultation on introducing the ULEZ in central London in April 2019 - 17 months earlier than previously planned; he has also set out plans to expand the ULEZ up to the North/South circular roads for all vehicles (except taxis) from 2021 and across the whole of Greater London for buses, coaches and lorries from 2020;
- taking action to ensure that national policies send the right messages to consumers: vehicle excise duty (VED) and other fiscal incentives continue to encourage the purchase of diesel cars – and they need to be amended;
- and urgently drafting new legislation including a 21st Century Clean Air Act, which could provide the overarching framework for action: it should provide a legally enforceable right to clean air for all citizens and the Government should introduce new powers to better regulate all emissions sources, not just road transport (for example, London needs additional powers to manage emissions from the river and construction sites).