UK to ban internal combustion cars from 2040

The United Kingdom is set to follow France in enforcing a blanket ban on the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles from 2040 in a bit to combat air pollution.

The British government said on Tuesday that drivers on congested roads in towns and cities across the UK could soon face new pollution taxes under sweeping reforms which will eventually herald the end of the traditional internal combustion car.

It comes amid revelations there are 81 major roads in 17 towns and cities in breach of EU emissions standards.

“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,” a government spokesman told The Guardian.

“That is why we are providing councils with new funding to accelerate development of local plans, as part of an ambitious £3bn program to clean up dirty air around our roads.”

The eradication of diesel and petrol vehicles from UK roads is part of a clean air plan design to combat rising levels of nitrogen oxide. It is understood hybrid vehicles will be exempt.

The plan has been at the centre of a protracted high court legal battle, despite fears from government ministers that poor air quality poses the largest environment risk to public health in the UK.

Ministers have reportedly been urged to introduce charges for vehicles to enter a series of “clean air zones” (CAZ). In addition, the measures will include the reprogramming of traffic lights, retrofitting buses and other public transport, changing road layouts and even deleting speed humps.

The final plan is due by Wednesday and comes after a draft report that environmental lawyers described as “much weaker than hoped for”.

Many aspects of the plan are set to mirror the French government’s radical ban on petrol and diesel sales by 2040, announced earlier this month.

The French ban came just a day after Volvo announced it would electrify all of its new models from 2019 and Mercedes-Benz revealed it would start building battery-electric cars in partnership with Chinese car-maker BAIC from 2020.