There has been a call to scrap diesel cars older than 10 years due to the high amount of emissions they produce, particularly the Nitrogen Oxide (Nox) levels. This call comes from the RAC Foundation who have recently reported that there are over 29,000 premature deaths each year caused by poor air quality.
The RAC Foundation are calling for the government to do something about this issue which can cause such physical problems as heart conditions, cancer and asthma. Older diesel cars emit a lot more emissions and particulates than their petrol counterparts and are being blamed as the main culprits for the high level of air pollutants.
Diesel cars have become very popular in recent years due to better fuel economy and low emissions and the car manufacturing companies have made a real effort to deal with the earlier issue of high levels of pollutants coming from diesel cars.
Professor Stephen Glaister is the director of the RAC Foundation and this is what he had to say about the issue: “Many people believed that by buying diesels they’d get better fuel consumption and help fight global warming through low CO2 emissions. But such was the focus on the planet that policy makers missed the impact older diesel models in particular have on health in urban areas. The car industry has risen to the challenge of cleaning up diesel engines but we need to deal with the legacy of the dirtiest diesels.”
The Department of Transport have stated that they do not plan to go ahead with such a scheme but that they have other things in place to combat the issue of air pollution. A spokesman for the Department for Transport had this to say: “There have been major improvements in air quality over the past two decades, and we’re investing £2billion on a range of actions to improve it further. These include promoting ultra-low emission vehicles, greener public transport, walking and cycling.”
What do you think of the suggestion to scrap diesel cars older than 10 years? Do you own a diesel car which falls into this category? Share your thoughts with us in our comments box below.
