| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Proposed CPZ surcharge on diesel cars. | |
| Posted by: | Michael Robinson | |
| Date/Time: | 29/06/17 11:31:00 |
| I disagree that vehicle pollution is *purely* a national issue. This may be from the school of the bleedin' obvious, but the only way to reduce vehicle pollution is to reduce the number of polluting vehicles. National governments can address the pollution per vehicle by measures such as regulations for the vehicles themselves and taxation incentives/disincentives but local authorities can do things to try and reduce the number of vehicles. For example, how to get children walking and cycling to school rather than being driven. If you read the government's proposed air quality strategy in response to being taken to court, the government is basically absolving itself of responsibility and passing the buck to local authorities (and being criticised for doing so) If national government refuses to do anything meaningful and passes the buck to local authorities, then you are going to see local authorities do what they can, even if it is not particularly effective. IMO national government is passing the buck because they are running scared of the reaction against changes to taxation and running scared of upsetting the motor manufacturers. There is an analogy in history with the Clean Air Act in the 1950s following London smogs. The government of the time had to be dragged kicking and screaming into doing something after years of backbench pressure and the equivocation and resistance to action back then is similar to what we are seeing now. |