Diesel scrappage scheme planned 03 | 02 | 2017
AS THE ONGOING debate continues in Scotland and the rest of the UK about the deterioration of air quality, the Westminster Government is understood to be considering implementing a diesel scrappage scheme later this year.
The scheme would offer a cashback payment or money off low-emission vehicles in exchange for buyers’ older, high-polluting diesel vehicles. This in turn would contribute to reducing the number of such high-polluting vehicles on Britain’s roads.
The news comes just days after Scottish councils began monitoring the decision by the Westminster City Council to increase parking charges for diesel vehicles in a bid to cut nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions in the Greater London borough.
Officials in the Department for Transport and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, according to a report in the Telegraph, are considering the new scrappage proposal.
It’s understood talks are under way with the Treasury, which would provide finance for the scheme. The plan could focus on the worst-polluted areas of Britain and begin in a matter of months.
"We have to find the right way to migrate the nature of the cars on our roads to a point where they cause much less of a pollution problem than they do at the moment,“ Transport secretary Chris Grayling said when addressing the House of Commons.
Related: Ford to launch 300-mile electric SUV
Keep up-to-date with all the latest news by following us on twitter.com/Scotcars
Jim McGill