The war on NOx and diesel...

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Interesting episode of Dispatches tonight which once again raised the issue of the effects of diesel particulates and NOx. A Labour party spokesman held his hands up and admitted that the introduction of the current VED system was a complete balls up as was telling everyone to buy diesel, both of which have contributed to significantly worse air quality in towns and cities. The issue of global warming or lack thereof depending on your viewpoint seems to be taking a back seat, being replaced by increasing concerns over the health effects caused by reduced air quality. And as most of you will know, Boris last year announced his plans to create an Ultra Low Emissions Zone in London whereby diesel cars in particular will face excess charges to drive in the city; the same idea has been proposed in other EU cities. With the diesel car and NOx emissions seemingly in the firing line, are we close to seeing a complete overhaul of the VED banding system the likes of which we saw under Labour? Are diesel cars soon to be taxed off the road just as many large engine petrol cars were?

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Max_Torque said:

Other than the fact air quality hasn't actually got worse! Air quality has improved year on year for the last 25 years, due to a reduction in heavy industry and ever cleaner cars!

I suppose it's a case of how you measure air quality. NO2 levels have increased at the roadside in inner London between 1995 and 2010, same with our motorways. Everywhere else it has decreased but the talk is of creating Ultra Low Emission cities. NOx is the buzz word this time just as CO2 has been for the last 20 years and the real purpose of this topic was to highlight the glaring similarities between what's being said now and what was said just before the introduction of the current VED banding system and war on petrol was declared.