Skip to main content

UK government publishes new air quality plan for consultation

The UK government has published a draft plan to improve air quality by reducing nitrogen dioxide levels in the country. The options now open for consultation on reducing nitrogen dioxide in our towns and cities are designed to reduce the impact of diesel vehicles, and accelerate the move to cleaner transport. Local authorities are already responsible for improving air quality in their area, but will now be expected to develop new and creative solutions to reduce emissions as quickly as possible, while avoid
May 8, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The UK government has published a draft plan to improve air quality by reducing nitrogen dioxide levels in the country. The options now open for consultation on reducing nitrogen dioxide in our towns and cities are designed to reduce the impact of diesel vehicles, and accelerate the move to cleaner transport.


Local authorities are already responsible for improving air quality in their area, but will now be expected to develop new and creative solutions to reduce emissions as quickly as possible, while avoiding undue impact on the motorist.

The government is consulting on a range of measures that could be taken to mitigate the impact of action to improve air quality.

In line with the timetable directed by the Courts the government is seeking views on these proposals in advance of preparing its final plan for publication by 31 July. All final decisions will be taken by the incoming government.

This consultation will run until 15 June.

Following the news, Ozgur Tohumcu, chief executive officer of 8615 Tantalum Corporation said:
“It is good news that the Government is taking further action to reduce the 40,000 annual deaths linked to air pollution. They are now talking about up to 15 Clean Air Zones, which could charge a total of 4.4 million cars alone. If the Government pushes forward with an old-fashioned camera based system it will cost billions in compliance and enforcement. Tantalum’s Air.Car service, charges on the actual environmental impact of the individual vehicle and how it is being driven. Air.Car delivers emission reductions cheaper and faster and allows drivers to control how much they pay through better driving habits. The Government is right to be concerned about onerous so-called ‘pollution taxes', and Tantalum’s Air.Car solution would drive down emissions in a smarter and fairer way, putting individual motorists in charge and delivering emissions reductions more cost effectively."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • MoneySuperMarket: 49% of British public surveyed have never considered buying EV or Hybrid Car
    November 7, 2017
    49% of the of the British public have stated that they have never considered buying an electric car (EC) or hybrid car, according to recent research by MoneySupermarket.com. These findings come from a survey carried out by the comparison site on 1,000 UK car owners to determine whether the British public is prepared for the electric switch following the government’s plans to prohibit petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040. It examined the cost, the number of charging points and public opinion.
  • ITF releases projections for modal shares, emissions
    December 4, 2014
    New projections, released today by the International Transport Forum (ITF) at the OECD during the COP20 climate change negotiations in Lima, Peru, highlight a critical choice for policy makers: whether to pursue urbanisation based on public transport or on private transport with cars and two-wheelers. Big cities in China, India and Latin America with over 500,000 inhabitants will more than double their share of world passenger transport emissions by 2050 to 20 per cent (2010: 9 per cent), if current urba
  • Eight ways Volkswagen can regain their customers’ trust
    October 6, 2015
    In the light of Volkswagen's concession of corporate wrongdoing in circumventing EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) testing in the US, Frost & Sullivan has proposed eight strategies the company can utilise to regain consumer trust, fuel sales volumes and develop sustainable revenue growth opportunities. Frost & Sullivan says developments in clean diesel technology and internal combustion engines (ICE) have been substantially pushed back by years. The immediate impact of this crisis goes beyond Volkswa
  • Robust enforcement strategy needed for free flow toll roads
    January 10, 2012
    Timidity has no place in effective enforcement operations on free-flow toll roads, says the NRA's Cathal Masteron. What's needed is a robust strategy which starts big and reduces in size over time, rather than starts small and gains a reputation for being easy to avoid