What’s happening?
The UK government is set to reveal a draft air pollution plan after a long legal battle with environmental campaigners.
It could well include a scrappage scheme for older diesel cars in areas with higher levels of dirty air.
As well as this speed bumps in some cities could be scrapped to help cut pollution from cars speeding up and slowing down.
According to the Royal College of Physicians, air pollution across the UK is the cause of 40,000 premature deaths each year.
The UK has struggled to stay within EU limits of some pollutants, especially nitrogen oxide (NO2). This is produced from diesel engines and is also linked with respiratory diseases including asthma.
ClientEarth CEO James Thornton, said: “Successive governments have encouraged people to buy diesel. We don’t want to see diesel drivers vilified, and we think the plans should also include properly funded incentives to help people move to cleaner forms of transport,”
“We will thoroughly analyse the government’s draft plans when they are produced. If we do not think they are in line with the court order, to deal with illegal levels of pollution as soon as possible, then we will consider our next steps.”
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