New London pollution tax comes into force
London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced the new £10 (11.2-euro, $13.2)
charge -- which will be on top of a daily £11.50 congestion charge
Drivers of the most polluting vehicles will face an extra daily charge for driving into central London on weekdays from Monday in a bid to improve air quality in one of Europe's most polluted cities.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan
announced the new £10 (11.2-euro, $13.2) charge -- which will be on top
of a daily £11.50 congestion charge -- in February, after the European
Union ordered Britain to cut air pollution.
"As mayor I am determined to take urgent action to help clean up London's lethal air," Khan said in a statement.
"The
shameful scale of the public health crisis London faces, with thousands
of premature deaths caused by air pollution, must be addressed," he added.
The
charge applies to all petrol and diesel cars that were registered
before the introduction of environmentally friendly Euro 4 emissions
standards.
Transport for London said that anyone with a vehicle registered before 2008 should check if it might be eligible for the charge.
The
charge is intended to prepare Londoners for the introduction of an
Ultra-Low Emission Zone across the city centre from April 2019.
The
European Commission in February issued a warning to five member states
including Britain, urging them to take action on car pollution or risk
being sent to the European Court of Justice.
The
European Commission said that "persistently high" levels of nitrogen
dioxide caused 70,000 premature deaths in Europe in 2013.
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