Bristol diesel ban ‘misguided’

Bristol’s proposal to ban all diesel vehicles from the city centre from 2021 has been described as confusing and counter-productive.

Bristol City Council announced this week its proposal to ban diesel vehicles from entering a part of the city centre, as well introducing a larger charging zone alongside it for all vehicles except private cars not meeting the minimum emissions criteria of Euro 4 petrol or Euro 6/VI diesel. 

If voted in by the Council, this proposal would be put forward to government for approval to come into effect in 2021.

However, the SMMT believes the proposal will not achieve what it is intended to.

It said: “We want to see all cities, including Bristol, meet their targets and continue to invest in ever more advanced technology to help improve our environment. However, this proposed blanket ban, which goes against government’s guidelines, fails to distinguish between modern vehicles and decades-old technologies and will only cause confusion for drivers while also undermining efforts to boost air quality.

“The automotive industry is committed to a low carbon future, and is investing massively to get there. Average CO2 emissions from new cars have declined by around a third since 2000, and the development of the latest low emission technology has resulted in new vehicles that have vastly reduced NOx and virtually eliminated particulates.

“Instead of the proposed ban, we need a clear and consistent national approach to clean air zones that incentivises uptake of the latest, low emission vehicles, including new Euro 6 diesels, which are the cleanest ever produced, alongside improvements to traffic flow and investment in charging infrastructure.”