London's mayor Boris Johnson's plan to exempt diesel cars from the congestion charge 'misguided' say air quality campaignersThe mayor of London's proposed changes to the Congestion Change scheme could exacerbate the capital's air pollution problems and stifle take-up of
electric cars, campaigners said today.The changes will also mean that tens of thousands of hybrid owners will lose their exemption status.The warning comes as a major carmaker launches a campaign to create a consumer label showing cars' air pollution impact.In May, Boris Johnson proposed a "greener vehicle discount" exempting cars from the £8 charge (set to rise to £10 in January) if they emitted 100g/ km CO2 and meet the highest air quality standard, 'Euro 5'. The move was an acknowledgement that the current system, where hybrid cars enter the zone for free, has been outpaced by developments in lower emission conventional diesel and petrol engine cars.Currently, hybrid and electric cars enter the congestion zone free, but this new move would allow diesel cars that have low CO2 emissions to also enter the zone free. However, campaigners believe this would compound London's air quality problems, as although modern diesel cars emit lower levels of CO2, they emit higher levels of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and so exacerbate heart disease and respiratory illnesses such as asthma.Ed Dearnley, policy officer at pollution campaigners Environmental Protection
UK, wrote in his submission to the mayor's consultation: "The mayor's proposed 'greener vehicles discount' is misguided, effectively enabling many mass market diesel vehicles free entry to the charging area." The letter continues: "The primary aim for the congestion charge is to tackle congestion, so it is not in the interests of the scheme to exempt a large number of vehicles from having to pay the charge. The results are likely to be an increase in congestion, with knock-on negative impacts on journey times, air quality and ultimat ...
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