Ongoing problems of vehicle emissions

• IT is clear from reports this week about the continued problem of vehicle emissions (for example, “Sadiq Khan proposes journey charge for motorists in London”, The Guardian, January 18) that the rather blunt of instrument of charging for driving relatively new diesel cars in the extended ULEZ, ultra low emission zone, and a few old petrol cars, has not had the effect of reducing carbon emissions.

That was to be expected, of course, because diesel engines in general are allegedly more efficient than petrol engines and produce less carbon emissions.

But whatever harmful emissions they do – or don’t – produce it is pretty obvious that this has all come about because the public and the motorist have been misled for a long time about the environmental damage done by all ICEs, internal combustion engines. So it is time to curtail their general use.

It is obviously not going to be enough to charge a few cars with a particular type of engine the relatively punitive amount of £12.50 for every time they are used in the ULEZ, and thus to imply that other kinds of ICE are fine. That is a policy “dead-end”.

Accordingly, in the absence of the extra technology required for proper road-pricing, would it not be better to simply charge every combustion engined car for driving in the zone, a smaller amount, for example, £3 per day during the first year?

This could be increased incrementally on an annual review if it was found that the overall amount of emissions and air pollution had not been reduced.

NIGEL SHINDLER
Shirlock Road, NW3