London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan said the capital has brought in a new levy on the oldest and most polluting cars entering the city, in order to improve the air quality in the capital.
The new ten-pound tax will be applied on petrol and diesel vehicles registered before 2006, which are not compatible with to the European recommendations of 2005 regulating vehicles’ emission, Reuters reported.
The new tax will be applied from 7 am to 6 pm during weekdays, in addition to £ 11.5 as congestion tax. This means that some car owners will pay £ 21.5 a day to drive in central London.
In a statement, Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “as the mayor, I am determined to take urgent action to help clean London’s air," he added.
“The shameful measure of the public health crisis facing London, and the thousands of early deaths of air pollution should be addressed."
"This is an important day in this journey; the endorsement of tax will encourage drivers to get rid of harmful and polluting cars," he said.
The measures come after the UK Supreme Court ruled that the UK government's anti-air pollution measures failed to comply with EU rules concerning the limits of nitrogen dioxide emissions.
The measure comes as part of £875-million effort launched by the mayor's office to counter air pollution in London.
These efforts include reaching a low-emission city by 2019.
A study conducted by researchers at King's College London in 2015 showed that over 9,500 early deaths occurred among London residents annually due to exposure to polluted air for a long time.
