Sunday 15 November 2015

EVs ‘too expensive to tackle air pollution alone’

Electric vehicles (EVs) are too expensive to improve air quality alone in the short term.

That's according to a new report which suggests four other technologies should be deployed alongside EVs to tackle air pollution.

It recommends replacing old diesel cars with the latest models when tougher emissions standards come into force in 2018 and retrofitting 10,000 old buses with the latest emissions control systems.

The report from the Environmental Industries Commission (EIC) also suggests switching to renewable diesel for construction site generators and using solar and water treatments to polluted roads.

It added there is a range of more cost effective technologies which could be deployed within two to three years and which could make "a meaningful contribution to urban air quality".

Matthew Farrow, EIC Director said: "Britain has an air pollution crisis. Electric vehicles have the potential to transform air quality but they are only one part of the jigsaw and in the short term appear relatively expensive compared to the other technologies modelled in our report.

"To protect public health we must make meaningful cuts in air pollution as soon as possible and the truth is we need to use all the cost effective technologies at our disposal alongside an electric car roll out. An additional benefit is the significant number of ‘green jobs’ that air pollution control technologies can create. The government needs to facilitate and support this full range of solutions."