Britain to ban sale of new diesel and petrol vehicles from 2040

Britain is to ban all new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 in a bid to improve air quality.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove is expected to elaborate on details of a £255m fund to help councils deal with pollution from diesel vehicles, as part of £3bn spending on air quality.

The commitment follows a similar pledge in France earlier this month and forms part of the government’s clean air plan, which has been at the heart of a protracted high court legal battle after environmental lawyers described it as “much weaker than hoped for”.

ClientEarth chief executive James Thornton said: "The Government has trumpeted some promising measures with its air quality plans, but we need to see the detail.

"A clear policy to move people towards cleaner vehicles by banning the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans after 2040 is welcome, as is more funding for local authorities.

"However, the law says ministers must bring down illegal levels of air pollution as soon as possible, so any measures announced in this plan must be focused on doing that."

Poor air quality poses the largest environment risk to public health in the UK. In one recent year, it was estimated that the problem cost as much as £2.7bn in lost productivity.

Earlier this month, Volvo became the first manufacturer to declare that all new cars launched from 2019 onwards will be partially or completely battery-powered.