Mayoral candidates in London, the city with the worst air quality in Britain, have seized on the Department for Transport’s study of vehicle emissions to call for tighter controls on traffic pollution – including a ban on diesel cars.
An ultra-low emission zone in central London from 2020 will levy charges on all but the cleanest vehicles. But the DfT vehicle tests show that some diesels with a Euro 6 engine – classed as “ultra-low emission” and free to drive under outgoing mayor Boris Johnson’s plan – were emitting 12 times the permitted level of nitrogen oxide.
Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative candidate, said he would immediately consult on a more stringent zone that could be extended to outer boroughs. “Londoners are seeing their lives cut short because of the misleading emissions produced by some of the world’s biggest and most respected car brands,” he warned.
Goldsmith added that as mayor he would issue public smog alerts to give accurate information on air quality.
Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate, said: “The figures are exactly the reason why we need to speed up the introduction of the ultra-low emission zone so that it starts in 2018. Ultimately we will need to ban diesel vehicles from much of London and we need a mayor prepared to take these tough decisions and work with people to make these changes happen.”
Transport for London said it would respect the wishes of a new mayor but changes to the zone’s timings or charges would require further public consultation.
The Commons transport select committee will question the transport minister Robert Goodwill on Monday over the “unacceptable” progress in addressing real-world diesel emissions.
Louise Ellman, the chair of the committee, said it would demand to know why testing had only now confirmed fears raised long ago. She said: “Why was a discrepancy that has been an open secret for so long not been acted on? Without the VW scandal none of these things would have been publicised.
“The new emissions tests have to be robust and reliable and not mislead people. A key question is whether the changes that are proposed will be adequate: we’ve not been given any satisfactory explanation up to now.”
The DfT report suggests that many current diesels with Euro 6 compliant engines would not be authorised when real-world compliance tests are introduced next year. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said that some carmakers would be putting new models on hold to meet the more stringent demands on vehicles registered from 2017.
Mike Hawes, the SMMT chief executive, said: “They’ve got no choice. They have to meet these limits. Some will clearly be looking at their product plans and looking 12-15 months ahead, will have to change the model, put a new technology strategy in – or cancel the model. It’s a fundamental challenge to the industry which I do believe they will rise to, but the timing is dreadfully short.”
Hawes added that there was “still very much a strong future for diesel”, and said the industry welcomed more accurate tests, including for fuel consumption.
“The fact there is a discrepancy between the figures in the ad and what you get in the real world does the industry no favours.”
The growing concern over diesel emissions in Britain coincides with Volkswagen’s announcement that it is setting aside €16.2bn to cover the cost of the emissions scandal, a day after it struck a $1bn compensation deal with the US government.
While the German company said that 11m vehicles were affected worldwide, and 1.2m in the UK, it is not paying out to drivers outside the US.
Downing Street said on Friday that the transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, had pressed Volkswagen on why it was offering substantial compensation to US customers but not British ones. The prime minister’s spokeswoman said: “It is for VW to explain the approach that they are taking in different jurisdictions. The government has pressed VW on the issue of this kind of compensation.”
