The government has published its Clean Air Strategy 2019 which includes a full section dedicated to the actions to be taken to reduce emissions from transport.
The document goes well beyond this and also covers the UK’s strategy to secure clean growth and innovation, protect the nation’s health and the environment. It also outlines the measures to be taken to reduce emissions from farming, industry and at home.
The document reiterates the government position outlined in the Road to Zero document last year which focused solely on the transport industry. The government intends to position the UK as the best place in the world to develop, manufacture and use zero exhaust emissions vehicles and, during the transition, ending the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040
According to the new publication, the immediate air quality challenge is to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides in the areas where concentrations of these harmful gases currently exceed legal limits.
New legislation will give the Transport Secretary more powers to take effective action against tampering with vehicle emissions control systems.
In addition the strategy document sets out how the government plans to address toxic non-exhaust particulates from vehicles, such as micro-plastics, which can be a by-product of braking systems and tyres.
Not to focus entirely on road transport, the Clean Air Strategy 2019 document also outlines the action to be taken to minimise emissions in aviation, rail, at the ports and by non-road mobile machinery.
